Remington Bronzes and Artwork Made The Old West Come Alive

Frederic Remington (1861-1909) was an American artist who first made a name for himself as an illustrator and painter. He took up sculpting just fourteen years before his death, but his work was so impactful that his name is now synonymous with bronze sculpture. Unlike many famous artists, Remington was well-known and appreciated in his own lifetime. Many attribute his success not to extensive art training, but instead to the subject matter of his artwork: Remington is famous for his depiction of the life of a cowboy in the 1880s and 1890s.

A quick glance at Fredric Remington’s resume may reveal training from Vermont Episcopal Institute, Yale University, and the Art Students League. The truth is, his training was quite limited. As he had an interest in sketching, he took a few art classes as a child at Vermont Episcopal, and did in fact attend art school at Yale University. However, he left during his freshman year to attend to his father, and instead of returning, sought adventure out west. After a failed attempt to run a ranch in Kansas, Remington returned home. Only then did he complete some formal training (at the Art Students League in New York) after locals began to express interest in his work.

Remington’s success can be attributed not necessarily to flawless execution acquired by years of training, but rather to the subject matter on which he focused. His works typically represented scenes of the “Old West” and the life of a cowboy. Remington was passionate about his subject matter which shines through in his work. His time out west and on his own ranch gave him exposure to a common theme in Remington sculptures and paintings: horses. He is reported to have said, “What success I have had has been because I have a horseman’s knowledge of a horse. No one can draw equestrian subjects unless he is an equestrian himself.”

Commercially-speaking, Remington had excellent timing. In his prime, America’s interest in the ways of the dying west was blossoming and Remington’s art was a perfect fit; his work was frequently published in popular newspapers and magazines. In drawing from his own passion and life experiences, he captured the spirit of the original cowboy. Harper’s Weekly once said of Remington, “He draws what he knows, and he knows what he draws.”

Remington did not began to sculpt until later in life. In 1895, the first four Remington sculptures were cast in bronze using the sand-casting method: The Wounded Bunkie, The Wicked Pony, The Scalp, and The Bronco Buster. From 1900 until his death in 1909, Remington created his sculptures using the lost-wax bronze casting method. The first and perhaps most popular Remington bronze, The Bronco Buster, depicts a cowboy atop a horse rearing up on its two hind legs. Again, horses were a common theme; Remington is said to be one of the first American artists to accurately recreate the movement of a horse in action, a signature style that collectors favor.

While training may have sharpened the skills of Fredric Remington, what made him so successful was ideal timing, and the passion he brought to the subject matter of his work. Fueled by his own life experiences, Remington made the Old West come alive, first in illustrations, then paintings, and lastly, in his bronze sculptures. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Remington portrayed a most characteristic and yet vanishing type of American life. The solider, the cowboy, the rancher, the Indian, and the horses and cattle of the plains will live in his pictures and bronzes, I verily believe for all time."

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