It is difficult today to appreciate fully the excitement and novelty of Remington’s early work. His first sculpture, The Bronco Buster (0827.33, 0827.34), was a national sensation. Although not the first American sculpture of a cowboy, it was the first to depict a cowboy as action figure in bronze. The daring two-legged stance of the rearing horse, also considered a great technical accomplishment, had been first achieved by sand casting. Remington went on to sculpt seven other cowboy-themed works. The least popular, The Norther (0827.39), was the only one of his cowboy sculptures to depict the horse with all four feet on the ground, literally frozen in place. This actionless antihero was a marketplace flop from its inception, although it is now considered one of Remington’s finest works.

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.

The date that this bronze was created is unknown. There is no ledger date of sale because the first ledger (1898-1902) is lost. But it was probably cast shortly after 1900. This lifetime cast does not have a cast number. It likely still has the original patina to evoke frost. This is the first Remington sculpture to be made in lost wax.

Ann Boulton Young, Associate Conservator for the Gilcrease Museum, 2018