Frederic Remington 1861-1909

The above painting, The Stampede by Frederic Remington, was my first introduction to his work. I liked this painting so much that a print of it hung in my office for many years.

Remington was born October 4, 1861, in Canton, New York, the son of a hardware store owner and colonel during the Civil War. Frederic was a naer-do-well of sorts not wanting to have a military career as his father wished. From an early age he enjoyed drawing and hoped for a journalism career with art as a sideline.

He attended the art school at Yale University but was bored with painting only still lifes, preferring action scenes instead. After the death of his father and a rejection of his love interest, Frederic worked for his uncle's newspaper until, at age nineteen, ventured West. He wanted to buy a cattle ranch and a mine but realized he did not have enough money for either so he spent his time camping, hunting, and enjoying himself. He began to sketch in earnest and bartered his sketches for the essentials. With financial backing from his uncle, he was able to persue his art career and support a wife.

Through the 1890’s, Remington took frequent trips around the U.S., Mexico, and abroad to gather ideas for articles and illustrations, but his military and cowboy subjects always sold the best, even as the Old West was playing out. Gradually, he transitioned from the premiere chronicler-artist of the Old West to its most important historian-artist

Success inspired a grand life-style and Frederic became well-known throughout the country. His paintings and sculptures depicted the people and animals of the West with landscapes of secondary importance. His weight ballooned to over three hundred pounds. He invented "cowboy" sculpture with his inaugural peice, The Bronco Buster, (1895) and it has become a favorite art form well into the present day.

Sadly, Frederic Remington died of complications of peritonitis following an appendectomy on December 26, 1909. His weight contributed to the effects of the anesthesia which directly led to his death. He was only forty-eight. His depictions of the Old American West can be seen in museums across the country.

Just paint it!