Frederic Remington (October 4, 1861 - December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the American West. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1481 - Battle of Westbrook - Holland defeats troops of Utrecht. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e For the vector -based drawing program by Adobe Systems, see Adobe Illustrator. The Western United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American West or simply the West &mdashtraditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost
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Remington was born in Canton, New York in 1861 to Seth Pierrepont Remington and Clarissa Bascom Sackrider, whose family owned hardware stores and emigrated from Alsace-Lorraine in the early 1700’s. Canton is a Village in St Lawrence County, New York, United States. Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen generally Elsass - Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 [1] Remington’s father was a colonel in the Civil War whose family arrived in the United States from England in 1637. He was a newspaper editor and postmaster, and the family was active in local politics and staunchly Republican. One of Remington’s great grandfathers, Samuel Bascom, was a saddle maker by trade, and the Remingtons were fine horsemen. Frederic Remington was related by family bloodlines to Indian portrait artist George Catlin and cowboy sculptor Earl W. Bascom. George Catlin ( July 26, 1796 &ndash December 23, 1872) was an American painter, author and traveler who specialized in Earl W Bascom ( June 19, 1906 - August 28, 1995) was an American painter, printmaker and sculptor
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, Illinois for a brief time and was appointed editor of the Bloomington Republican, but the family returned to Canton in 1867. Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the County seat. [2] Remington was the only child of the marriage, and received constant attention and approval. He was an active child, large and strong for his age, who loved to hunt, swim, ride, and go camping. He was a poor student, though, particularly in math, which did not bode well for his father’s ambitions for his son to attend West Point. He began to make drawings and sketches of soldiers and cowboys at an early age.
The family moved to Ogdensburg, New York when Remington was eleven and he attended Vermont Episcopal Institute, a church-run military school, where his father hoped discipline would rein in his son’s lack of focus, and perhaps lead to a military career. Ogdensburg is a City in St Lawrence County, New York, United States. Remington took his first drawing lessons at the Institute. He then transferred to another military school where his classmates found the young Remington to be a pleasant fellow, a bit careless and lazy, good-humored, and generous of spirit, but definitely not soldier material. [3]He enjoyed making caricatures and silhouettes of his classmates. At sixteen, he wrote to his uncle of his modest ambitions, “I never intend to do any great amount of labor. I have but one short life and do not aspire to wealth or fame in a degree which could only be obtained by an extraordinary effort on my part”. [4]He imagined a career for himself as a journalist, with art as a sideline.
Remington attended the art school at Yale University, the only male in the freshman year. However, he found that football and boxing were more interesting than the formal art training, particularly drawing from casts and still life objects. He preferred action drawing and his first published illustration was a cartoon of a “bandaged football player” for the student newspaper Yale Courant. [5]. Though he was not a star player, his participation on the strong Yale football team was a great source of pride for Remington and his family. He left Yale in 1879 to tend to his ailing father who had tuberculosis. His father died a year later, at age forty-six, receiving respectful recognition from the citizens of Ogdensburg. Remington’s Uncle Mart secured a good paying clerical job for his nephew in Albany, New York and Remington would return home on weekends to see his girlfriend Eva Caten. Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County. After the rejection of his engagement proposal to Eva by her father, Remington became a reporter for his Uncle Mart’s newspaper, then went on to other short-lived jobs.
Living off his inheritance and modest work income, Remington refused to go back to art school and instead spent time camping and enjoying himself. At nineteen, he made his first trip west, going to Montana, at first to buy a cattle operation then a mining interest but realized he did not have sufficient capital for either. In the Ol’ West of 1881, he saw the vast prairies, the quickly shrinking buffalo herds, the still unfenced cattle, and the last major confrontations of U. S. Cavalry and native American tribes, scenes he had imagined since his childhood. Though the trip was undertaken as a lark, it gave Remington a more authentic view of the West than some of the later artists and writers who followed in his footsteps, such as N. C. Wyeth and Zane Grey, who arrived twenty-five years later when the Ol’ West had slipped into history. Newell Convers Wyeth ( October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945) known as N Zane Grey ( January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure Novels and From that first trip, Harper's Weekly published Remington’s first published commercial effort, a re-drawing of a quick sketch on wrapping paper that he had mailed back East. Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. [6] In 1883, Remington went to Peabody, Kansas to try his hand at the booming sheep ranching and wool trade, as one of the “holiday stockmen”, rich young Easterners out to make a quick killing as ranch owners. Peabody is a city in Marion County, Kansas, United States. The population was 1384 at the 2000 census. He invested his entire inheritance but Remington found ranching to be a rough, boring, isolated occupation which deprived him of the finer things of Eastern life, and the real ranchers thought him a lazy playboy. [7]
Remington continued sketching but at this point his results were still cartoonish and amateurish. After less than a year, he sold his ranch and went home. After acquiring more capital from his mother, he returned to Kansas City to start a hardware business, but due to an alleged swindle it failed, and he reinvested his remaining money as a silent, half owner of a saloon. He went home to marry Eva Caten in 1884 and they returned to Kansas City immediately. She was unhappy with his saloon life and was unimpressed by the sketches of saloon inhabitants that Remington regularly showed her. When his real occupation became known, she left her husband and returned to Ogdensburg. [8]With his wife gone and with business doing badly, Remington started to sketch and paint in earnest, and bartered his sketches for essentials.
He soon had enough success selling his paintings to locals to see art as a real profession. Remington returned home again, his inheritance gone but his faith in his new career secured, reunited with his wife and moved to Brooklyn. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. He began studies at the Art Students League of New York and significantly bolstered his fresh though still rough technique. The Art Students League of New York is an Art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. His timing was excellent as newspaper interest in the dying West was escalating. He submitted illustrations, sketches, and other works for publication with Western themes to Collier's and Harper's Weekly, as his recent Western experiences (highly exaggerated) and his hearty, breezy “cowboy” demeanor gained him credibility with the eastern publishers looking for authenticity. Collier's Weekly was an American Magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957 Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. [9]His first full page cover under his own name appeared in Harper's Weekly on January 9, 1886, when he was twenty-five. Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. With financial backing from his Uncle Bill, Remington was able to pursue his art career and support his wife.
In 1886, Remington was sent to Arizona by Harper's Weekly on a commission as an artist-correspondent to cover the government’s war against Geronimo. Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. Geronimo ( Chiricahua: Goyaałé, "one who yawns" often spelled Goyathlay or Goyahkla in English ( June 16 1829 Although he never caught up with Geronimo, Remington did acquire many authentic artifacts to be used later as props, and made many photos and sketches valuable for later paintings. He also made notes on the true colors of the West, such as “shadows of horses should be a cool carmine & Blue”, to supplement the black and white photos. Ironically, art critics later criticized his palette as “primitive and unnatural” even though it was based on actual observation. [10]
After returning back East, Remington was sent by Harper's Weekly to cover the Charleston, South Carolina earthquake of 1886. Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. Charleston is a city in Charleston county in the US state of South Carolina. To expand his commission work, he also began doing drawings for Outing magazine. In the late twentieth century outing became a common term for taking someone "out of The closet "—that is publicising that someone is Gay. His first year as a commercial artist had been successful, earning Remington $1,200, almost triple that of a typical teacher. [11]
For commercial reproduction in black-and-white, he produced ink and wash drawings. As he added watercolor, he began to sell his work in art exhibitions. His works were selling well but garnered no prizes, as the competition was strong and masters like Winslow Homer and Eastman Johnson were considered his superiors. Winslow Homer ( February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American Landscape painter and Printmaker Eastman Johnson ( July 29, 1824 - April 5, 1906) was an American painter and Co-Founder of the Metropolitan Museum A trip to Canada in 1887, produced illustrations of the Blackfeet, the Crows, and the Canadian Mounties, eagerly enjoyed by the reading public.
Later that year, Remington received a commission to do eighty-three illustrations for a book by Theodore Roosevelt, Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, to be serialized in The Century Magazine before publication. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T The Century Magazine was first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City as a successor to Scribner's The twenty-five year old Roosevelt had a similar Western adventure to Remington, losing money on a ranch in North Dakota the previous year but gaining experience which made him an “expert” on the West. The assignment gave Remington’s career a big boost and forged a lifelong connection with Roosevelt.
His full-color oil painting Return of the Blackfoot War Party was exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the New York Herald commented that Remington would “one day be listed among our great American painters”. The National Academy of Design, in New York City, now called simply The National Academy is an honorary association of American Artists with a Museum The New York Herald was a large distribution Newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924 [12]Though not admired by all critics, Remington’s work was deemed “distinctive” and “modern”. His status as the new trendsetter in Western art was solidified in 1889 when he won a second-class medal at the Paris Exposition. He had been selected by the American committee to represent American painting, over Albert Bierstadt whose majestic, large-scale landscapes peopled with tiny figures of pioneers and Indians was now considered passé. Albert Bierstadt ( January 8 1830 - February 18 1902) was a German - American painter best known for his large
Around this time, Remington made a gentleman’s agreement with Harper's Weekly, giving the magazine an informal first option on his output but maintaining Remington’s independence to sell elsewhere if desired. Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. As a bonus, the magazine launched a massive promotional campaign for Remington, stating that “He draws what he knows, and he knows what he draws. ” Though laced with blatant puffery (common for the time) claiming that Remington was a bona fide cowboy and Indian scout, the effect of the campaign was to raise Remington to the equal of the era’s top illustrators, Howard Pyle and Charles Dana Gibson. Howard Pyle ( March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American Illustrator and writer primarily of books for young audiences Charles Dana Gibson ( September 14, 1867 &ndash December 23, 1944) was an American graphic artist noted for his creation of the " [13]
His first one-man show, in 1890, presented twenty-one paintings at the American Art Galleries and was very well received. With success all but assured, Remington became established in society. His personality, his “pseudo-cowboy” speaking manner, and “Wild West” reputation were strong social attractions. However, his regular attendance at celebrity banquets and stag dinners, though helpful to his career, fostered prodigious eating and drinking which caused his girth to expand alarmingly. Obesity became a constant problem for him from then on. In 1890, Remington moved to posh New Rochelle, New York to his new estate “Endion”, in order to have both more living space and extensive studio facilities, and also with the hope of gaining more exercise. New Rochelle ( French: Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in the south-east portion of the U
Remington’s fame made him a favorite of the Western Army officers fighting the last Indian battles. He was invited out West to make their portraits in the field and to gain them national publicity through Remington’s articles and illustrations for Harper's Weekly, particularly General Nelson Miles, an Indian fighter who aspired to the presidency of the United States. Harper's Weekly ( A Journal of Civilization) was an American political Magazine based in New York City. In turn, Remington got exclusive access to the soldiers and their stories, and boosted his reputation with the reading public as “The Soldier Artist”. Remington arrived on the scene just after the Massacre at Wounded Knee, in which over 300 Sioux were slaughtered and which he reported it as “The Sioux Outbreak in South Dakota”, praising the Army’s ”heroic” actions in dealing with the Indians. [14]
Remington’s Self-Portrait on a Horse (1890) shows the artist as he wished he was, not the pot-bellied Easterner weighing heavily on a horse, but a tough, lean cowboy heading for adventure with his trusty steed. It was the image his publishers worked hard to maintain as well. In His Last Stand (1890), a cornered bear in the middle of a prairie is brought down by dogs and riflemen, which may have been a symbolized treatment of the dying Indians he had witnessed. Remington’s attitude toward Native Americans was typical for the time. He thought them unfathomable, fearless, superstitious, ignorant, and pitiless—and generally portrayed them as such. White men under attack were brave and noble.
Through the 1890’s, Remington took frequent trips around the U. S. , Mexico, and abroad to gather ideas for articles and illustrations, but his military and cowboy subjects always sold the best, even as the Old West was playing out. Gradually, he transitioned from the premiere chronicler-artist of the Old West to its most important historian-artist. He formed an effective partnership with Owen Wister, who became the leading writer of Western stories at the time. Having more confidence of his craft, Remington was relying less on photographs and more on field sketches and his imagination.
Remington’s had developed a sculptor’s 360 degree sense of vision but until a chance remark by playwright Augustus Thomas in 1895, Remington had not yet conceived of himself as a sculptor and thought of it as a separate art for which he had no training or aptitude. [15]With help from friend and sculptor Frederick Ruckstuhl, Remington constructed his first armature and clay model, a “bronco buster” where the horse is reared on its hind legs—technically a very challenging subject. After several months, the novice sculptor overcame the difficulties and had a plaster cast made, then bronze copies, which were sold at Tiffany’s. Remington was ecstatic about his new line of work, and though critical response was mixed, some labelling it negatively as “illustrated sculpture”, it was a successful first effort earning him $6,000 over three years. [16]
During that busy year, Remington became further immersed in military matters, inventing a new type of ammunition carrier; but his patented invention was not accepted for use by the War Department. [17] His favorite subject for magazine illustration was now military scenes, and sensing the political mood of that time, he was looking forward to a military conflict which would provide the opportunity to be a heroic war correspondent, giving me both new subject matter and the excitement of battle. He was growing bored with routine illustration, and he wrote to Howard Pyle, the dean of American illustrators, that he had “done nothing but potboil of late”. Howard Pyle ( March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American Illustrator and writer primarily of books for young audiences [18] (Earlier, he and Pyle in a gesture of mutual respect had exchanged paintings—Pyle’s painting of a dead pirate for Remington’s of a rough and ready cowpuncher).
Remington was further irritated by the lack of his acceptance to regular membership by the Academy, likely due to his image as a popular, cocky, and ostentatious artist. Remington kept up his contact with celebrities and politicos, and continued to woo Theodore Roosevelt, now the New York City Police Commissioner, by sending him complimentary editions of new works. Theodore Roosevelt (ˈroʊzəvɛlt October 27 1858 January 6 1919 also known as T Despite Roosevelt’s great admiration for Remington, he never purchased a Remington painting or drawing. [19]
Remington’s association with Roosevelt paid off, however, when the artist became a war correspondent and illustrator during the Spanish-American War in 1898, sent to provide illustrations for William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. For other people named William Randolph Hearst see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation William Randolph Hearst I (April 29 1863 &ndash He witnessed the assault on San Juan Hill by American forces, including those led by Roosevelt. The Battle of San Juan Hill ( July 1, 1898) was the bloodiest and most famous battle of the Spanish-American War. However, his heroic conception of war, based in part on his father’s Civil War experiences, were shattered by the actual horror of jungle fighting and the deprivations he faced in camp. His reports and illustrations upon his return focused not on heroic generals but on the troops. When the Rough Riders returned to the U. S. , they presented their courageous leader Roosevelt with Remington’s bronze statuette, The Bronco Buster, which the artist proclaimed, “the greatest compliment I ever had…After this everything will be mere fuss. ” Roosevelt responded, “There could have been no more appropriate gift from such a regiment. ”[20]
In 1900, as an economy move, Harper’s dropped Remington as their star artist. To compensate for the loss of work, Remington wrote and illustrated a full-length novel, The Way of an Indian, which was intended for serialization by a Hearst publication but not published until five years later in Cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan is the best-selling young women's magazine in the world Remington’s protagonist, a Cheyenne named Fire Eater, is a prototype Native American as viewed by Remington and many of his time. [21]
Remington then returned to sculpture, and produced his first works produced by the lost wax method, a higher quality process than the earlier sand casting method he had employed. Lost-wax casting, sometimes called by the French name of cire perdue, is the process by which a bronze is cast from an artist's sculpture in industrial uses the modern process [22]By 1901, Collier's was buying Remington’s illustrations on a steady basis. Collier's Weekly was an American Magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957 As his style matured, Remington portrayed his subjects in every light of day. His nocturnal paintings, very popular in his late life, such as A Taint on the Wind and Scare in the Pack Train, are more impressionistic and loosely painted, and focus on the unseen threat.
Remington completed another novel in 1902, John Ermine of the Yellowstone, a modest success but a definite disappointment as it was completely overshadowed by the best seller The Virginian, written by his sometime collaborator Owen Wister, which became a classic Western novel. This page is about the novel for other uses (including film adaptations see The Virginian (disambiguation. A stage play based on “John Ermine” failed in 1904. After “John Ermine”, Remington decided he would soon quit writing and illustration (after drawing over 2700 illustrations) to focus on sculpture and painting. [23]
In 1905, Remington had a major publicity coup when Collier's devoted an entire issue to the artist and his art, showcasing his latest works. Collier's Weekly was an American Magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957 His large outdoor sculpture of a “Big Cowboy”, which stands on the East River Drive in Philadelphia, was another late success. The financial panic of 1907 caused a slow down in his sales and in 1908, Remington tried to sell his home in New Rochelle to get further away from urbanization. One night he made a bonfire in his yard and burned sixteen of his oil paintings which had been used for magazine illustration (worth thousands of dollars), making an emphatic statement that he was done with illustration forever. Near the end of his life, he moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut. Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States.
Frederic Remington died after an emergency appendectomy led to peritonitis on December 26, 1909. An appendicectomy (or appendectomy) is the surgical removal of the Vermiform appendix. Peritonitis is defined as Inflammation of the Peritoneum (the Serous membrane which lines part of the abdominal cavity and some of the Viscera His extreme obesity (weight nearly 300 lbs. ) had complicated the anesthesia and the surgery, and chronic appendicitis was cited in the post-mortem examination as an underlying factor in his death. [24]
The Frederick Remington House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. Frederic Remington House (also known as Frederick Remington House) in Ridgefield Connecticut, was the home of the painter and sculptor Frederic Remington A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the
Remington was the most successful Western illustrator in the “Golden Age” of illustration at the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century, so much so that the other Western artists such as Charles Russell and Charles Schreyvogel were known during Remington’s life as members of the “School of Remington”. Charles Russell LLP is an international Law firm based in London Charles Russell may also refer to Charles Addison Russell (1852-1902 Charles Schreyvogel ( January 4, 1861 - January 27, 1912) was a painter of Western subject matter in the days of the disappearing frontier [25]His style was naturalistic, sometimes impressionistic, and usually veered away from the ethnographic realism of earlier Western artists such as George Catlin. George Catlin ( July 26, 1796 &ndash December 23, 1872) was an American painter, author and traveler who specialized in His focus was firmly on the people and animals of the West, with landscape usually of secondary importance, unlike the members and descendants of the Hudson River School, such as Frederick Church, Albert Bierstadt, and Thomas Moran, who glorified the vastness of the West and the dominance of nature over man. The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Frederic Edwin Church ( May 4, 1826 &ndash April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Albert Bierstadt ( January 8 1830 - February 18 1902) was a German - American painter best known for his large Thomas Moran ( February 12, 1837 - August 25, 1926) from Bolton, England was an artist of He took artistic liberties in his depictions of human action, and for the sake of his readers’ and publishers’ interest. Though always confident in his subject matter, Remington was less sure about his colors, and critics often harped on his palette, but his lack of confidence drove him to experiment and produce a great variety of effects, some very true to nature and some imagined.
His collaboration with Owen Wister on The Evolution of the Cowpuncher, published by Harper’s Monthly in September 1893, was the first statement of the mythical cowboy in American literature, spawning the entire genre of Western fiction, films, and theater that followed. Harper's Magazine (also Harper's) is a monthly general-interest Magazine of literature politics culture finance and the arts Remington provided the concept of the project, its factual content, and its illustrations and Wister supplied the stories, sometimes altering Remington’s ideas. [26] (Remington’s prototype cowboys were Mexican rancheros but Wister made the American cowboys descendants of Saxons—in truth, they were both partially right, as the first American cowboys were both the ranchers who tended the cattle and horses of the American Revolutionary army on Long Island and the Mexicans who ranched in the Arizona and California territories).
Remington was one of the first American artists to illustrate the true gait of the horse in motion (along with Thomas Eakins), as validated by the famous sequential photographs of Eadweard Muybridge. Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins ( July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was a realist painter, Photographer, sculptor Eadweard J Muybridge ( April 9, 1830 &ndash May 8, 1904) was an English photographer, known primarily for his early use [27]Previously, horses in full gallop were usually depicted with all four legs pointing out, like “hobby horses”. The galloping horse became Remington’s signature subject, copied and interpreted by many Western artists who followed him, adopting the correct anatomical motion. Though criticized by some for his use of photography, Remington often created depictions that slightly exaggerated natural motion to satisfy the eye. He wrote, “the artist must know more than the camera. . . (the horse must be) incorrectly drawn from the photographic standpoint (to achieve the desired effect). ”
Also, noteworthy was Remington’s invention of “cowboy” sculpture. From his inaugural piece, The Bronco Buster (1895), he created an art form which is still very popular among collectors of Western art.
An early advocate of the photoengraving process over wood engraving for magazine reproduction of illustrative art, Remington became an accepted expert in reproduction methods, which helped gain him strong working relationships with editors and printers. Furthermore, Remington’s skill as a businessman was equal to his artistry, unlike many other artists who relied on their spouses or business agents or no one at all to run their financial affairs. He was an effective publicist and promoter of his art. He insisted that his originals be handled carefully and returned to him in pristine condition (without editor’s marks) so he could sell them. He carefully regulated his output to maximize his income and kept detailed notes about his works and his sales.
In 1991 the PBS series American Masters filmed a documentary of Remington's life called Frederic Remington: The Truth of Other Days produced and directed by Tom Neff. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the American Masters is a PBS Television show which produces biographies on what it considers are the best Artists Actors and Frederic Remington The Truth of Other Days ( 1991) is a documentary of American Western artist Frederic Remington made for the PBS Thomas Linden Neff, known as Tom Neff, is a film executive director and producer born in Chicago Illinois.