Please leave a comment below to be entered in a giveaway.
In January 2015, I blogged about Western artist, Charles Marion Russell. While researching Russell’s story, I found that he was a contemporary of Frederic
Remington, another well-known Western artist. I thought I would share Remington’s
story with you this month. As we’ll see there were major differences between
the two artists, even though there is some similarity in their work. Russell
made a living as a cowboy and chose to live in the west for much of his life.
Remington tried living in the west, and did get an understanding for the cowboy
life, but chose to live back east instead of the more rugged West.
Frederic Remington was born in 1861 in Canton, New York. His
father attended West Point and served as a Colonel in the Civil War. He had
high hopes his only child, Frederic, would follow in his footsteps, but
Frederic proved more interested in the arts than in math and other studies
necessary to attend West Point. Instead, he practiced drawing cowboys and soldiers
from an early age. As he grew older, he often drew caricatures of his
classmates. When he attended Yale, his first published drawing was a cartoon of
injured football player.
In 1879, he left Yale to care for his father who had
contracted tuberculosis. After his father’s death, Remington worked a variety
of small jobs at newspapers. He once told his uncle he didn’t aspire to fame,
but would be content working as a journalist with a sideline in art.
At 19, after receiving an inheritance, Remington set out for
the wilds of Montana. He considered buying a ranch, or going into mining until
he realized his inheritance wouldn't cover the cost. While in the West, he did begin to understand the harsher elements and the nature of the cowboy’s work,
something that showed up in his art work. Harper’s Weekly published Remington’s
first commercial piece of art, a re-creation of a quick sketch he’d done on
some wrapping paper.
After numerous ventures that either didn’t pan out, or weren’t
what Remington wanted to do, he began to sketch and paint in an attempt to make
a living with his art work. His earlier choice of sketching patrons of saloons
hadn’t been favored by his wife and she left him. He continued to paint,
reunited with his wife and moved back east. At this time, his technique was
considered amateur and rough. Remington began studying at the Art Students
League of New York. He began to submit sketches to Harper’s Weekly and
Colliers. In 1886, at the age of 25, he received his first full page under his
own name in Harper’s Weekly.
He traveled a lot to various places such as Arizona and
Canada, but his big break came when he was commissioned to illustrate a book
for Teddy Roosevelt. Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail would showcase 83
illustrations by Remington. The book was serialized in The Century Magazine
before being published as a book. Remington’s credibility as a Western artist
soared as the issues released.
Remington received many honors. In 1888, two of his
paintings were chosen by the U. S. Postal to be reproduced on stamps. After
being dropped by Harper’s Weekly, he wrote and illustrated books about the
West. In 1898, he became a war correspondent for the Spanish-American War. At the
end of the war, the Rough Riders presented Teddy Roosevelt with Remington’s
bronze, The Bronco Buster. Remington declared this to be a great honor.
Throughout his life, Remington produced close to 3000 works
of art, wrote 8 books and cast 25 bronzes, many of which are popular
reproductions today. His study on the
horse in motion changed the way horses were depicted in art.
Frederic Remington died young at 48 years old, from
complications of appendicitis.
Have you ever read any of Remington’s books? Do you prefer
his paintings or his bronzes? Leave a comment below to be entered in the giveaway for a copy of my latest release, or for one of my other titles of your
choice.
Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in
Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest with its
interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children and one
grandson. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play
with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen
Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her
books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.