Accomplishments
Illustration
Remington made his name as an illustrator, mostly
of western and military subjects, for most of the widely circulated
magazines of the late 1880s and 1890s. Among the magazines he
illustrated were Harper’s Weekly, Harper’s Monthly, Century, Collier’s,
Outing, Boys’ Life, and Cosmopolitan. He remains most closely associated
with depictions of the old West.
He created most of the art for
reproduction in books and magazines using black and white media: pen and
ink, ink wash and gouache, and black and white oil.
His magazine
work also included self-assigned reporting missions, which resulted in
many articles both written and illustrated by Frederic Remington.
Writing
Remington was unafraid of writing, and specialized in
tales of high adventure in the West. His magazine articles were
collected into books, and he published works of fiction as well,
amounting to eight books in all: Pony Tracks (1895), A Rogers Ranger in
the French and Indian War (1897), Crooked Trails (1898), Sundown Leflare
(1899), Stories of Peace and War (1899), Men with the Bark On (1900),
John Ermine of the Yellowstone (1902) and The Way of an Indian (1906).
Bronzes
In 1895 Remington began to make sculptures, producing 22
different subjects. He worked in clay. His clay models were cast in
bronze at art foundries. His first four subjects were cast using the
sand casting method at the Henry-Bonnard Co. In 1898 he began working
exclusively with Roman Bronze Works, N.Y., which employed the lost wax
casting method. For an accounting of legitimate bronze casts and their
whereabouts, see Icons of the West: Frederic Remington’s Sculpture by
Michael D. Greenbaum, published in 1996 by the Frederic Remington Art
Museum Remington’s bronzes were titled as follows. Unless otherwise
noted they were cast at Roman Bronze Works, N.Y. using the lost-wax
bronze casting method. Bronzes are listed in order of copyright.
1895 The Broncho Buster *
1896 The Wounded Bunkie**
1898 The Wicked Pony *
1898 The Scalp *
1900 The Norther
1901 The Cheyenne
1901 The Buffalo Signal
1902 Coming Through the Rye
1903 The Mountain Man
1904 Polo
1904 The Sergeant
1905 The Rattlesnake
1905 Dragoons 1850
1906 The Outlaw
1906 Paleolithic Man
1907 The Horse Thief
1907 The Buffalo Horse
1908 The Cowboy
1908 The Savage
1909 Trooper of the Plains 1868
1909 The Broncho Buster (large version)
1909 The Stampede
*
These sculptures were cast at the Henry-Bonnard Co. using the sand
casting method, and also cast at Roman Bronze Works, NY using the
lost-wax casting method.
** This sculpture was only cast at the Henry-Bonnard Co. using the sand casting method.
Paintings
Methods
Remington traveled west many times to report for magazines and to
accumulate photographs, make sketches and buy props for his studio. This
enabled him to create accurate details and gain inspiration each day in
the comfort of his studio.
