Frederic Remington

Artist Biography

A New York native, Frederic Remington found his affinity for art when he started drawing soldiers and cowboys at a young age. He was not a strong academic, and when his father enrolled him in a church-run military school to try and direct the young boy, he took his first drawing lessons. He went on to study art and join the football team at Yale University until he had to step back and care for his ailing father in 1879, who soon passed. Remington was uninterested in returning to art school, and instead spent his time camping and traveling west, first arriving in Montana. The artist had the opportunity to see the last true manifestations of the wild American west, where conflict between the U.S. and indigenous people was still prevalent, cattle roamed the open plains, and the widely undeveloped plains that so many artists have been enchanted by.  Eventually, he moved back to New York, settling in Brooklyn and studying at the Art Students League of New York, refining his style and execution. He accepted a job with Harper’s Weekly, a publication where he submitted sketches and illustrations, who sent him around America to portray and document various happenings. Over his career, he enhanced his capabilities in sculpting and painting, taking numerous trips around the U.S. and Mexico to gather inspiration. In 1895, he crafted his well known Bronco Buster out of clay, then successfully creating bronze copies that were sold at Tiffany’s.

In 1905, the artist was featured in Collier magazine, who devoted an entire issue to showcasing his work, accounting for a serious spike in publicity. Remington is today considered one of the premier American artists who focused on conveying the landscape, people, and emotion of the West.