Frederic Remington

In 1892, Scribner’s magazine noted that Remington had created the look of the Western myth more than any other source. Fifteen years later, Remington received positive reviews for a December 1909 issue in New York that included Hunter’s Supper (below).  By the end of the month, however, Remington’s brilliant career as a painter and sculptor was over with his death, caused by complications from an emergency appendectomy. He was only 48.

Remington was born and reared in New York State, where early on his father introduced him to horses, which became his lifelong passion. He became intrigued by the West on a 1881 vacation to Montana Territory. Soon, Remington's career made him a nationally known artist‑correspondent for magazines. His paintings of military, Western and wildlife, gleaned from subsequent trips to the Southwest, Northwest and the Rockies, appeared in such publications as Harper’s Weekly, Collier’s and Cosmopolitan.

The Museum collection including The Buffalo Signal (1901), which is a unique cast that Remington gifted to his friend, French Devereux. It represents the moment at which an Indian scout waves a buffalo robe, signaling the beginning of the hunt.

Celebrated for the accuracy of his black-and-white illustrations, Remington later bristled at being labeled an illustrator. By 1900, he was exploring pure pigments, impressionistic techniques, and pared-down compositions. He turned especially to the tonal subtleties of night. His nocturnes were mysterious, personal works often lit by firelight, like In From the Night Herd.