![]() My water colors will fade-but I am to endure in bronze-even rust does not touch. While working on the sculpture, Remington made a striking statement in a letter to his friend, the novelist Owen Wister: James Edward Kelly, Defenders of New Haven (detail), New Haven, CT, 1910: This monument’s condition shows that bronze definitely does NOT endure forever! The sculpture went on to be one of the most popular in turn-of-the-century America, with hundreds of authorized and unauthorized casts. ![]() As a first effort, it is extraordinary, with dynamic action and virtuoso use of space. Remington agreed, and with the encouragement of Ruckstull and Thomas, he began working in clay and finished The Broncho Buster shortly afterward. One day, Augustus Thomas observed how Remington was able to imagine the same figure from multiple viewpoints on paper, mentally turning the subject one way or another to suit his needs, and pointed out that with skill like this, Remington had the mind of a sculptor. Hartranft, and Remington often went to watch him at work. At the time, Ruckstull was working on an equestrian statue honoring Major General John F. Ruckstull was staying with Remington’s neighbor, Augustus Thomas. That said, the story of how Remington became a sculptor is compelling. There’s a reason that Remington was drawn to the activities of the Rough Riders in Cuba during the War of 1898, and there’s a reason that Teddy Roosevelt was so fond of his work. Remington was active as an artist at a particular moment in American history when the conquest of the West was drawing to a close and the imperialist era, signaled by the Spanish-American War, was just dawning, and his cowboys and Indians are completely tied up in that narrative. Remington’s art has never particularly appealed to me: I find the machismo more than a little off-putting, and the politics inherent in his work are quite upsetting as well. One of those is Frederic Remington’s Broncho Buster. The project has been stimulating: it’s a bit of a break from ruminating over monumental destruction, and I’ve had the chance to research a number of works that were familiar to me, but which I had never taken the opportunity to think deeply about. For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing a bit of freelance writing, working on a group of catalogue entries on important American sculptures for a major new show on American art. ![]() I think it lets the guys know that we value them when we establish our home decor.Frederic Remington, The Broncho Buster, 1895, this cast 1918 (Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art) If you love southwestern art and decor, you'll love the way that these rustic and powerful bronze statues complement that decor in particular. My serious reading is all done on an e-reader. Only signed books are bought and displayed in bookcases. I put them on a bookcase and when people see that all my books are signed they go gaga. I know that I always get authors to sign new books. Signed art always impresses other people. High-quality art and crystal will give a new office the air of success and competence - from the first day. If you know of someone who is graduating from law school and establishing a new office, this is the perfect new office gift. Therefore I tend to see it as the perfect gift for Father's Day or even a retirement gift. Of course anyone can appreciate the talent behind the art of Frederic Remington, but it does have a very masculine side. A one-of-a-kind piece might sell for thousands of dollar, while a statue designed for Franklin Mint might sell for under $50. The price of a Remington bronze sculpture varies immensely depending upon who commissioned it. The detailed sculptures let you feel the power in the horses legs and long gaze of a cowboy looking for the next watering hole. From the tip of the cowboy's hat to the horse's hooves, you see the power and grace of these two has the race across the Western plains delivering mail, chasing buffalo or looking for land to farm. In a Remington statue the cowboy and horse truly are represented as a single design element. There was a reason that hanging was often the punishment for horse stealing. ![]() To lose your horse was often to die a slow and lonely death. Usually this strong and brave man is shown on his horse, sometimes he'll be walking his horse, but usually there's a horse in the cowboy sculpture. Frederic Remington crafted many bronze statues depicting the life and work of the Western cowboy.
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