American Painting and Sculpture

FREDERIC REMINGTON
(American, 1861-1909)

The Mountain Man, designed 1903, cast about 1907-1909
Bronze
Gift of Mrs. Henry Fitzhugh, Jr. 1983.13

Painter and sculptor Frederic Remington enjoyed a successful career creating lively, animated depictions of western life. After studying art at Yale University and the Art Students League in New York, Remington traveled through the Dakotas, Montana, Texas, and the Arizona Territory in the 1880s. Inspired by the images of cowboys, Indians, and trappers that he encountered there, he began portraying in his illustrations, paintings, and sculptures the rugged frontier lifestyle that was disappearing quickly.

In The Mountain Man Remington captures the dynamic tension of a horse and rider precariously descending a steep, rocky slope. Through the horse’s erect ears and extended tail, the viewer senses the steed’s struggle to maintain its sure footing. The artist once described the subject as an old Iroquois trapper who followed the fur companies in the Rocky Mountains during the 1830s and ‘40s.