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Lot Essay
Celebrated as the artist who shaped the popular vision of the Old West, Frederic Remington enjoyed a very successful, albeit brief, artistic career which began in illustration. Remington's formal art training was scant, three semesters at Yale College School of Art in the late 1870s followed by three months at the Art Students league in 1886.
Remington made his first trip to the West in the summer of 1881, traveling through Montana. The following year marked the beginning of Remington's career in illustration with a work published in Harper's Weekly. In a desire to experience the West firsthand, Remington purchased a sheep ranch near Peabody, Kansas in 1883. This spurred a move to Kansas City in 1884 with his new bride, Eva Caten. However, the couple returned to New York within a year, suffering from poor financial decisions. Remington continued to make frequent trips to the South and Northwest where he drew material and artistic inspiration for years to come.
In 1888, Remington was commissioned by Century Magazine to produce illustrations and a journal from his tour of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Indian Territories. He accompanied the 10th U.S. Cavalry on a scouting trip of the Arizona Territory in the summer of 1888. Remington wrote and illustrated three articles based on this trip, including A Pool in the Desert for the article 'A Scout with the Buffalo-Soldiers'. The 10th Cavalry, an African-American unit organized after the Civil War, was charged with the duty of preventing renegade outbreaks and was instrumental in the capture of the Apache chief, Geronimo in 1886.
Remington made his first trip to the West in the summer of 1881, traveling through Montana. The following year marked the beginning of Remington's career in illustration with a work published in Harper's Weekly. In a desire to experience the West firsthand, Remington purchased a sheep ranch near Peabody, Kansas in 1883. This spurred a move to Kansas City in 1884 with his new bride, Eva Caten. However, the couple returned to New York within a year, suffering from poor financial decisions. Remington continued to make frequent trips to the South and Northwest where he drew material and artistic inspiration for years to come.
In 1888, Remington was commissioned by Century Magazine to produce illustrations and a journal from his tour of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Indian Territories. He accompanied the 10th U.S. Cavalry on a scouting trip of the Arizona Territory in the summer of 1888. Remington wrote and illustrated three articles based on this trip, including A Pool in the Desert for the article 'A Scout with the Buffalo-Soldiers'. The 10th Cavalry, an African-American unit organized after the Civil War, was charged with the duty of preventing renegade outbreaks and was instrumental in the capture of the Apache chief, Geronimo in 1886.