Frederic Sackrider Remington is an American painter, demonstrator, writer, and sculptor who presented the theme of Western American civilization in his artwork. His works accurately represent the closing phase of American culture in the nineteenth century. Visual representation of shepherds, Native Americans, and mounted troops of the United States can be seen in the paintings of Remington artists.
More About Frederic Remington Artist
The family of Seth Pierrepont Remington and Clarissa Bascom Sackrider settled in Canton, New York, from a German Empire, Alsace-Lorraine, in the 1700s when they gave birth to Remington. An artist who brought the Western American Civilization into the world of art.
Remington started his professional career as a newspaper manager and later a postmaster. He was a firm Republican and deeply interested in juridical issues. However, art was always in his blood. After all, his family bloodline relates to George Catlin, a native American portrait artist, and Earl Wesley Bascom, a cattle rustler sculptor.
Themes of Frederic Remington’s Art
Painting, drawing, watercolor painting, and mixed media are the mediums widely used by Frederic Remington. Impressionism is the central theme of his artworks. You can see visible small, little, yet evident brush strokes in his paintings. His paintings depict the impact of the passage of time and varying qualities of light.
Another central theme in some of his artworks was the concept of night scenes. The nocturnes by Remington are limited to a specific color palette consisting of black, brown, green, and white. Frederic Remington’s art features atmospheric paintings as well.
Here are the details about some famous Frederic Remington paintings, including their themes, background, and meanings.
The Stampede
Frederic created ‘The Stampede’ by using oil on canvas in 1908. The painting represents a war scene in which a soldier rides a horse with full strength. In the background, there is lightning sparking, and are various other riders drenched with rain.
The painting depicts how the soldiers focus on their ultimate goal during the war, keeping all the situations behind them. The lighting in the picture is highly significant. The central theme of the image is ‘American Realism,’ representing the danger of a war scene accompanied by a heavy downpour on the rider, lightning, and visible turmoil.
The hues in the painting encourage an atmosphere of urgency for the rider. The illustration of a galloping horse is remarkable in this artwork.
A Dash for the Timber
In 1889, Frederic Remington created ‘A dash for the Timber’ with the help of oil on canvas. The painting is influenced by the exceptional quality of light in the stark landscapes when he made various expeditions to the Southwest to mark the Apache Wars.
The painting is the visual representation of eight cowboys mounted on their horses. Horses can be seen in their full gallop to pursue the war party. Among the riders, three shoot over on the troop in the background. The sky is painted blue with the shadows of purple with an orange-peach diversified ground. The gallop of horses blows white dust. It directly engages the audience as fleeing riders face the viewer now.
The central theme of the painting is impressionism. The composition of the picture is highly cinematic and is full of action. It portrays the struggle of life.
The Fall of the Cowboy
The painting refers to Frederic Remington, the Cowboy. Fredrick depicted the influence of cowboys throughout the artwork of his life. However, Remington suggested the incremental end of the cowboy era. This painting conveys the wistful and muted winter atmosphere. This low-tone palette highly depicts Remington’s intention towards grieving in the shift of the tradition of a cowboy.
With the symbols of respect and sympathy, the artist reflects the demise of cowboys. One of the cowboys is not mounted on the horse and has opened the barbed wire gate. The fence is highly significant here. It divides the scene in half and seems to be endless.
An Indian Trapper
In 1889, Frederic Remington painted courage of the American frontier who turned to the viewers courageously on his horseback. The color palette and the panorama’s light are particularly delicate in this artwork.
The painting illustrates the events of a sketching expedition in the Canadian West. On his journey, Remington sketched the Blackfeet alongside Bow River. He returned with many artifacts from the trip, which later served as the subjects of many of his paintings. The artist created the artwork inspired by a Cree or Blackfoot running across the Selkirk Mountains, Great Britain’s territory.
Aiding a Comrade
Probably created in 1890, Aiding a Comrade represents the visuals of three comrades riding on a horse. Among them, one falls. It depicts that the rest of them are trying to help him. Then, one bends his hand to allow the partner to raise it again. Finally, the horses are complete in their strength.
To paint the skies, the painter used blue hues. However, in the background, different soldiers are seen fighting each other. The scene depicts a battleground based on the theme of brotherhood shared by the comrades on the battlefield.
A Figure of the Night
The painting is about a rider and his horse in the dark. Remington uses his creativity to represent an impenetrable forest in the background surrounded by the shadows of invisible trees. A bright blue-green palette in the painting depicts the ground, and the glowy ground illustrates the snow illuminated by the moonlight in the dark.
It is an example of atmospheric paintings created by Remington. The shadows of unseen trees in the foreground highlight the loneliness of the rider and the existing hidden dangers in the dark, gloomy forest.
Conclusion
The significant themes of the famous Frederic Remington paintings can be understood through the details of these paintings. His sculptures and other artworks symbolize impressionism, cowboy life, and creative atmospheric panoramas. Through the pictures and sculptor Remington became the adornment of many magazines. Art lovers still admire the works of this great artist and try to find the true meaning of American civilization in his artworks.
