Sunday 30 November 2014

Frederic Remington - part 1

Self-Portrait 
pencil on paper 20.3 x 12.7 cm ( sheet ) 
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

Frederic Sackrider Remington (1861 – 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialised in depictions of the Old American West featuring depictions of Cowboys, American Indians and the U.S. Cavalry.

Remington was born in Canton, New York in 1861. Remington’s father, Seth Pierre Remington, was a colonel during the Civil War. Colonel Remington was away at war during most of the first four years of his son’s life. After the war he moved his family to Bloomington, Indiana, but the family returned to Canton in 1867. The family moved to Ogdensburg, New York when Frederic was eleven, where he attended Vermont Episcopal Institute, a church-run military school, before transferring to another military school.

Remington went on to the art school at Yale University, studying under John Henry Niemeyer. After the death of Remington’s father, his uncle secured a clerical job for his nephew in Albany, New York, and later became a reporter for his uncle’s newspaper, followed by a series of short-lived jobs. An inheritance from his father enabled Remington to travel frequently to the West, and he quickly developed a love of the fast disappearing world of Cowboys and Indians. He eventually purchased a sheep ranch near Kansas, endlessly making sketches.

In 1884 he sold his first sketches based on his western travels, and within two years his first fully credited illustration appeared on the cover of Harper’s Weekly. His popularity as an illustrator continued to grow and he returned to New York to satisfy the largely eastern market for his work.


An 1885 Harper's Weekly cover "Ejecting an Oklahoma Boomer"

Remington’s output was enormous, creating more than 2,700 sketches, paintings, and published illustrations. He died in 1909 from acute appendicitis, leaving a body of work loved by the public but largely ignored by museums and collectors. However, his reputation continued to grow and his work became sought after. Prominent museums like the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre in Cody, Wyoming, and the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma have created large permanent exhibitions of his work.

This is part 1 of a 7-part post on the works of Frederic Remington:


1880s A Fight in the Street 
wood engraving 9.5 x 12.5 cm

1882 Cowboys of Arizona - Roused by a Scout
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

1883 My Ranch 
watercolour on paper 22.9 x 29.2 cm 
Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg, New York

1885 Arresting the Deserter 
watercolour on paper 45.09 x 59.7 cm 
Private Collection

1885 Attack on the Supply Train 
watercolour and gouache on paper 35.6 x 71.3 cm
 Private Collection

1885 Battle of Beecher's Island 
watercolour on paper 53.3 x 30.5 cm 
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

1885 Illustration for the Harper's Weekly "The Apaches Are Coming"
 pen and ink wash and gouache on paper ( en grisaille ) 
Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg, New York

1885 Signalling the Main Command 
watercolour on paper 67.9 x 93.7 cm 
Private Collection

1885 The Couriers 
watercolour on paper 27.9 x 38.1 cm 
Private Collection

1885c Prairie Fire 
oil on artist board 68.1 x 55.9 cm 
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO

1886  Soldiering in the Southwest - The Rescue of Corporal Scott 
illustration for Harper's Weekly

1886 "Abandoned" 
wood engraving illustration for Harper's Weekly

1886 In from the Night Herd 
illustration for cover of Harper's Weekly

1886 Saddle Up

1886 The Apache War - Indian Scouts on Geronimo's Trail 
illustration for Harper's Weekly
gouache on academy board ( en grisaille ) 
Private Collection

1886 The Empty Saddle 
watercolour on paper 40 x 47 cm 
Private Collection

1886 The Flag of Truce in the Indian War 
gouache on paper 40.6 x 30.5 cm 
Private Collection

1887 A Dispute over a Brand

1887 A Quarrel over Cards - A sketch from a New Mexican Ranch


1887 An Episode in the Opening up of a Cattle Country 
woodcut illustration after an oil on panel ( en grisaille ) 
Autry National Centre, Los Angeles, CA

1887 Arrest of a Blackfeet Murderer 
woodcut after a watercolour on paper

1887 Burning the Range 
woodcut illustration after and oil on board ( en grisaille ) 
Private Collection

1887 Crow Indians Firing into the Agency 
oil on paper mounted on board ( en grisaille ) 
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas

1887 Pima Indians Convoying a Silver Train in Mexico 
gouache on paper ( en grisaille )
 Private Collection

1887 Return of a Blackfoot War Party 
oil on canvas 28.5 x 50 cm 
American Museum of Western Art, Denver, CO

1887 Small Oaks 
oil on canvas 
Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg, New York

1887 The Lookout 
oil on canvas 55.7 x 65.9 cm 
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

1887-91 Pueblo Indian Village 
oil on canvas ( en grisaille ) 68.6 x 43.2 cm 
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

1888 A Blackfoot Chief 
oil on canvas 55.9 x 40.6 cm 
Private Collection

1888 An Old-Time Mountain Man with His Ponies 
pen and ink on paper 
Private Collection

1888 Comanche Brave, Fort Reno, Indian Territory 
oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 
Private Collection

1888 Lieutenant James M. Watson, Tenth Cavalry 
ink wash on paper ( en Grisaille ) 
Private Collection

1888 Looking Through the Telescope 
oil on board en grisaille 26.7 x 34 cm 
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

1888 Mandan Initiation Ceremony ( the Sundance ) 
oil on panel en grisaille

1888 Mexican Soldier 
oil on canvas 43.2 x 35.6 cm 
Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin

1888 The Cow Pony 
oil on canvas 50.8 x 61 cm 
Private Collection

1888-89 A Texas Pony 
oil on composition board ( en grisaille ) 50.8 x 47 cm 
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

1888c  Broncos and Timber Wolves 
oil on wood panel ( en grisaille ) 
William S. Hart Ranch and Museum, Newhall, CA

1888c A Fur Train from the Far North 
wood engraving


1888c An Ox Train in the Mountains 
wood engraving from an oil on canvas ( en grisaille )
 "21" Club, New York City

1888c Cutting out a Steer 
illustration from an oil on academy board ( en grisaille )  
Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, New York

1888c Dragging a Bull's Hide over a Prairie Fire in Northern Texas

1888c Geronimo and His Band Returning from a Raid into Mexico 
oil on canvas ( en grisaille ) 
Private Collection

1888c In a Stampede

1888c In the Desert 
pen, ink wash and gouache on paper 25.4 x 35.6 cm 
Private Collection

1888c Indian Scout at Fort Reno 
drawing and gouache on paper 38.1 x 36.8 cm
 Private Collection

1888c Saddling Fresh Horses 
pen and ink on paper 
Private Collection

1888c Stalking Goats 
illustration from an oil on academy board 
Private Collection

1888c The Advance Guard 
watercolour 58.1 x 53 cm  
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

1888c The Indians We Met

1888c Tom Kicked Away the Stirrups and Grasped the Low Branch of a Live Oak Tree 
gouache on illustration board 
Private Collection

1889 "We Packed Our Mules in the Corral of the Hotel" 
gouache on buff paper ( en grisaille ) 
Private Collection

1889 A Dash for the Timber 
oil on canvas 122.6 x 213.7 cm  
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas

1889 A Regimental Scout 
oil on board 71.1 x 45.7 cm 
Private Collection

1889 An Equine Freight Car / A Point of View 
pen and ink on paper 27.9 x 35.6 cm 
Private Collection

1889 An Indian Trapper 
oil on canvas 124.5 x 86.7 cm 
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas

1889 Bugler of Cavalry 
oil on canvas laid on panel 71.1 x 45.7 cm 
James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA

1889 Bull Fight in Mexico 
oil on canvas 61 x 81.3 cm 
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA

1889 Call the Doctor 
oil on canvas 61 x 86.4 cm

1889 Cavalry in an Arizona Sandstorm 
oil on canvas ( en grisaille )

1889 Cavalryman of the Line, Mexico 
oil on canvas 61.3 x 50.8 cm 
Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas