Signed, "frederic remington"; Inscribed, "copyright by Frederic Remington" on top of base; Marked, "No 9" on bottom of base; Marked, "ROMAN BRONZE WORKS N-Y-" on side of base.
The big version of The Bronco Buster was first enlarged in plaster at the foundry from the smaller model and then taken to the artist’s studio for improvement. There are no lifetime casts of the large size of The Bronco Buster. Remington made some changes to the enlarged plaster model and had the reworked model cast again in plaster at his studio and sent to the foundry only days before he died of appendicitis. It is not known if he had intended to make further changes at the foundry. This particular cast is recorded in the Roman Bronze Works records as having been sold in 1917. The large version did not sell especially well (19 posthumous casts were made by Eva Remington) perhaps due to the cost; it retailed at Tiffany’s for $700.
From the exhibition:Frontier to Foundry: the Making of Small Bronze Sculpture in the Gilcrease Collection, December 2014 - March 2015.
Ann Boulton Young, Associate Conservator for the Gilcrease Museum, 2014.
Curatorial Remarks:
This bronze, cast number 9, is a posthumous cast. It was first sold on May 31, 1917, by Roman Bronze Works. Gilcrease purchased it from Knoedler Gallery in 1959.
Information given by Ann Boulton Young, Associate Conservator for the Gilcrease Museum, 2018
Remington is known as one of the premier artist of the American West. During the 1880s, he traveled through the Dakotas, Montana, the Arizona Territory, and Texas, returning to New York in 1885, with the desire to record the vanishing wilderness. In 1895, he began to exhibit his bronzes of cowboys and horses in motion. After 1900, his illustrative style shifted to one of Impressionism, as he became influenced by the work of Monet, Childe Hassam, and John H. Twatchman. In addition to his paintings and sculpture, he wrote eight books and numerous short stories on the Wild West. Comment on works: western
Related People:
Frederic Remington Art Museum, related to - any American art museum, Ogdensburg, founded 1923
Remington, Eva Caten, spouse of - person American wife of artist, died 1918
