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The Bronco Buster

Creator Name

Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909) Cast by Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co. (American, 19th century);
Frederic Remington

Cultural Context

--

Date

Modeled 1895, cast 1899

About the work

Art Institute of Chicago Object Description

A technical achievement in bronze, this composition of a cowboy attempting to tame a horse portrays an idea of the Western United States in dramatic and violent terms: white settler-colonialists in the act of subduing nature and flesh. As a painter and illustrator, Frederic Remington garnered success by crafting mythic, romanticized views of frontier life; The Bronco Buster was his first attempt to do so in sculpture. For white audiences living east of the Mississippi River at the turn of the 20th century, the artist's triumphant figures came to represent a singular—and distorted—vision of an unfamiliar American West.

Work details

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Title

The Bronco Buster

Creator

Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909) Cast by Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co. (American, 19th century);
Frederic Remington

Worktype

Sculpture; sculpture; american arts

Cultural Context

--

Material

Bronze with brown patina; bronze; copper alloy; nonferrous metal; metal; inorganic material

Dimensions

60 × 54.7 × 34.5 cm (23 5/8 × 21 9/16 × 13 5/8 in.)

Technique

sculpting

Language

--

Date

Modeled 1895, cast 1899

Provenance

George F. Harding Collection; George F. Harding, Jr. (1868–1939), Chicago, by 1939; bequeathed to the George F. Harding Museum, Chicago, 1939 [the museum closed in 1964 and the collection was placed in storage in Chicago and New York]; transferred to the Art Institute of Chicago, July 30, 1982 [incoming permanent receipt RX13663, July 30, 1982, Harding inventory no. 461; copy in curatorial file]; accessioned by the Art Institute of Chicago, 1984.

Style Period

19th century

Rights

Curationist Logo
Public Domain
Public Domain

Inscription

Signed recto, right, on base top, in cast: ""Frederic Remington" with "55" in F of signature; inscribed verso, on base side, in cast: "Copyrighted by / Frederic Remington 1895"; inscribed right, on base top, in cast: "The Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co.: Founders N.Y. 1899". Inscribed bottom, middle, etched: "55".

Location

United States

Subjects

animals; rodeos; cowboys; horses; horseback riding; people; portraits

Topic

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All Works in Curationist’s archives can be reproduced and used freely. How to attribute this Work:

Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909) Cast by Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co. (American, 19th century), The Bronco Buster, Modeled 1895, cast 1899, Art Institute of Chicago. Public Domain.

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