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Frederic Remington: Paintings & Sculpture
No artist or writer is more identified with the American West, its myths and its reality, than Frederick Remington. This book showcases 31 of his works, 25 paintings and six bronze sculptures that demonstrate that Theordore Roosevelt's words all represent thelegacy of this great artist. Roosevelt said, 'The soldier, the cowboy and rancher, the Indian, the horse and cattle of the plains, will live in his pictures, I verily believe, for all time.'
160 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 1993
6 people want to read
About the author
Frederic Remington
302 books5 followersFrederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, etcher, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S. Cavalry.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 25, 2017
Besides seeing paintings and sculpture by Remington in museums and galleries around the United States, I did not know much about this artist who I associated more with his ability to define a certain era in the Western USA than anything else.
http://www.frederic-remington.org/A-D...
This edition was published by a division of Random House and credits the Amon Carter Museum’s collection. That may mean the fine uncredited “Afterword” commentary was done by one of the museum’s curators.
I hadn’t realized that Remington never ventured into the West until he was past 40 years old. His first trip west only whetted his enthusiasm for capturing a time and place that he realized (in the early 1880s) was disappearing quickly. He also realized that his artistic talents were not sufficient to capture what he saw and when he returned to the East he took more instruction. Pen and ink drawings were published and he saw that he could make a living doing what he loved. Canvases followed and later sculpture.
http://www.frederic-remington.org/The...
The book makes clear that his work became influenced by the French Impressionists and that tempered his realistic approach. His work was popular in his time and lauded by many including critics and celebrities. Teddy Roosevelt was an early supporter.
http://www.frederic-remington.org/A-R...
By the time he died (his last work completed about 1909) the “wild” West had passed into history. Some laud Remington for “painting the truth” but, as he himself acknowledged, it was a white male perspective. Even contemporaries, such as critic William Coffin observed, “Eastern people have formed their conceptions of what the Far-Western life is like more from what they have seen in Mr. Remington’s pictures than from any other source.” Much of what followed from historians, politicians and writers has his images as a foundation.
The short amount of time this book requires was amply rewarded. I hope you find it a similar gateway to further explorations.
http://www.frederic-remington.org/A-D...
This edition was published by a division of Random House and credits the Amon Carter Museum’s collection. That may mean the fine uncredited “Afterword” commentary was done by one of the museum’s curators.
I hadn’t realized that Remington never ventured into the West until he was past 40 years old. His first trip west only whetted his enthusiasm for capturing a time and place that he realized (in the early 1880s) was disappearing quickly. He also realized that his artistic talents were not sufficient to capture what he saw and when he returned to the East he took more instruction. Pen and ink drawings were published and he saw that he could make a living doing what he loved. Canvases followed and later sculpture.
http://www.frederic-remington.org/The...
The book makes clear that his work became influenced by the French Impressionists and that tempered his realistic approach. His work was popular in his time and lauded by many including critics and celebrities. Teddy Roosevelt was an early supporter.
http://www.frederic-remington.org/A-R...
By the time he died (his last work completed about 1909) the “wild” West had passed into history. Some laud Remington for “painting the truth” but, as he himself acknowledged, it was a white male perspective. Even contemporaries, such as critic William Coffin observed, “Eastern people have formed their conceptions of what the Far-Western life is like more from what they have seen in Mr. Remington’s pictures than from any other source.” Much of what followed from historians, politicians and writers has his images as a foundation.
The short amount of time this book requires was amply rewarded. I hope you find it a similar gateway to further explorations.
February 2, 2025
Frederic Remington once said, 'Everything in the West is life and you want life in art ... the field to me is almost inexhaustible.' The diversity of the 25 paintings and six bronze sculptures portrayed in this book prove those words to be quite definitely true.
Born in upstate New York in 1841, Remington took up drawing at a young age and as a student at the Yale School of Fine Arts he had several drawings published in the 'Yale Courant'. However, when he left school family circumstances obliged him to take up a position as a clerk. Eventually bored with his job in 1881 he took a trip to the West, somewhere he had long hankered to explore.
While away he was busy with his pen and when he returned one of his sketches was published in 'Harper's Weekly' and this started a long association with the magazine. All the time the lure of the West proved irresistible and he moved to take up sheep ranching in Kansas, where later he became part owner of a saloon.
But in 1885 he returned to settle in Brooklyn where he took courses in art and sold his sketches to magazines. An assignment for 'Harper's Weekly' took him to Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and across the border into Mexico and it was then that he fell in love with the rugged, unforgiving landscape and the rough, hardy men who inhabited it. This inspired him to produce many painting, one of the earliest from 1889 being 'The Sentinel', a stark portrait of a Papago Indian guarding a mission from the Apaches.
His career as a portrayer of Western life and the people who lived it was fully underway. His early work displayed a realistic view of events and his 1889 'Dash for the Timber', which was exhibited at the National Academy of Design, drew comment from the 'New York Herald' which stated that he was 'one of the strongest of our younger artists'. It went on to state, 'The drawing [sic] is true and strong, the figures of the men and horses are in fine action, tearing along at full gallop.'
Be it action, or portraits of the protagonists, his work was always hailed as the best of its kind with his, 'Self-portrait on a horse' is magnificent while his evocative 'Rounded up' displays all the intensity of the cavalry and others holding out against Indian raids. And it was no surprise when Theodore Roosevelt stated in 1909 after Remington's death, 'The soldier, the cowboy and rancher, the Indian, the horse and cattle of the plains, will live in his pictures, I verily believe, for all time.' Readers of the relatively small selection in this book will be able to judge that statement for themselves.
Born in upstate New York in 1841, Remington took up drawing at a young age and as a student at the Yale School of Fine Arts he had several drawings published in the 'Yale Courant'. However, when he left school family circumstances obliged him to take up a position as a clerk. Eventually bored with his job in 1881 he took a trip to the West, somewhere he had long hankered to explore.
While away he was busy with his pen and when he returned one of his sketches was published in 'Harper's Weekly' and this started a long association with the magazine. All the time the lure of the West proved irresistible and he moved to take up sheep ranching in Kansas, where later he became part owner of a saloon.
But in 1885 he returned to settle in Brooklyn where he took courses in art and sold his sketches to magazines. An assignment for 'Harper's Weekly' took him to Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and across the border into Mexico and it was then that he fell in love with the rugged, unforgiving landscape and the rough, hardy men who inhabited it. This inspired him to produce many painting, one of the earliest from 1889 being 'The Sentinel', a stark portrait of a Papago Indian guarding a mission from the Apaches.
His career as a portrayer of Western life and the people who lived it was fully underway. His early work displayed a realistic view of events and his 1889 'Dash for the Timber', which was exhibited at the National Academy of Design, drew comment from the 'New York Herald' which stated that he was 'one of the strongest of our younger artists'. It went on to state, 'The drawing [sic] is true and strong, the figures of the men and horses are in fine action, tearing along at full gallop.'
Be it action, or portraits of the protagonists, his work was always hailed as the best of its kind with his, 'Self-portrait on a horse' is magnificent while his evocative 'Rounded up' displays all the intensity of the cavalry and others holding out against Indian raids. And it was no surprise when Theodore Roosevelt stated in 1909 after Remington's death, 'The soldier, the cowboy and rancher, the Indian, the horse and cattle of the plains, will live in his pictures, I verily believe, for all time.' Readers of the relatively small selection in this book will be able to judge that statement for themselves.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews