The Fall of the Cowboy

In 1895 Remington’s friend, the Philadelphia writer Owen Wister, published an article in Harper’s Monthly titled, “The Evolution of the Cow-Puncher.” A number of illustrations, including this painting, accompanied the article. Remington had advised Wister to write about the cowboy’s passing, for the open ranges where “he literally fought his right of way” were no more. “Don’t mistake the nice young men who amble around wire fences for the wild rider of the Plains,” he warned. The passing of the open-range cowboy is mourned in this painting, which is infused with the slow rhythms and somber tones of an elegy. The mythic image of the cowboy was to be further immortalized seven years later with the publication of Wister’s influential novel The Virginian.