Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
"Remington had such success with his first version of The Bronco Buster that he decided to produce a second one half again as large as the first. He wrote to Bertelli at the Roman Bronze Works that “this size lends itself to my hand much better than the smaller.”1 When the model was finished he sent off an enthusiastic note to the foundry.
""Say Bertelli, you ought to see the 11/2 Bronco Buster -- It will make your eyes hang out on your shirt. Get ready to retire the small one -- mind you.""2
1 Letter from Remington to Riccardo Bertelli, undated (1909), in the collection of the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana.
2 Letter from Remington to Riccardo Bertelli, undated (1909), in the collection of the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana.
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1999.13.01 & 1999.13.09
Frederic Remington was defined by the Old West. His obsession with the lives of countless Native Americans, cowboys, and military men drove him to attempt to recreate with vivid details the drama and danger of their daily life. Not surprisingly, he focused on equestrian due to their inherent danger and beauty. Several of his bronze sculptures represent horses and horsemanship in their finest details. Remington enjoyed great success despite the fact that he had very little formal training in sculpture. He extended the possibilities of what bronzes can show as demonstrated by The Outlaw: the artist relished the challenge of pushing boundaries. He wrote to the head of the Roman Bronze Works, Riccardo Bertelli, a post card with a sketch of a bucking horse and rider and under he wrote this conversation, “R: ‘Can you caste him?’ B: ‘Do you think I am one of the Wright brothers?’”
Remington took a realistic view in The Outlaw. The cowboy sits leaning backward precariously on his steed struggling to maintain his balance and control, as his steed rears right into the curve. The riders face is frozen in a determined and confident expression, while in contrast the horse is frantic with energy and terror. The arching lines of the sculpture convey the excitement of the action, with the cowboy twisted in his saddle. We have the illusion that the bronze is alive and simply frozen at the peak of drama.
Frederic Remington used realism extensively throughout his bronzes. The textures and details of the rider and horse are painstakingly depicted by Remington. He wanted to bring his idea of the Old West to the modern world of the East Coast. Like most of his other works, The Outlaw demonstrates Remington’s careful attention to the anatomy horse movement and the riders mastery over them. Frederic Remington created The Outlaw as a companion pieces to the The Broncho Buster. They are like a teeter-totter, creating a fluid flow from the start to finish of the horses bucking motion.
Bibliography: Remington1960: [PAGE #s]; Hassrick 1973: [PAGE #s] ; Shapiro1981: [PAGE #s]; Hassrick 1988: [PAGE #s]; Remington 1993: [PAGE #s]; Nemerov1995: [PAGE #s]; “Frederic Remington (1861-1909).” http:// www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5154232; Amon Carter Museum, “Works of Art.” http://www.cartermuseum.org/works-of-art/1999-22
Submitted by Eric Engle"