Frederic Remington (1861-1909)

'The Scalp'

Details

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
'The Scalp'
inscribed 'Copyright by/Frederic Remington' (on the base)--inscribed 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS, N.Y.' (along the base)--inscribed 'N·7·' (beneath the base)
bronze with brown patina
23 in. (58.4 cm.) high

Provenance

Reese L. and Virginia Milner, circa late 1950s.
Sotheby's, New York, 24 May 2006, lot 207.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Literature

P.H. Hassrick, Frederic Remington: Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Collections, New York, 1973, pp. 190-91, another example illustrated.
Denver Art Museum, Frederic Remington: The Late Years, exhibition catalogue, Denver, Colorado, 1981, p. 60, another example illustrated.
M.E. Shapiro, Cast and Recast: The Sculpture of Frederic Remington, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C., 1981, pp. 71, 113, another example illustrated.
Architectural Digest, vol. 44, 1987, pp. 116-17, illustrated.
M.E. Shapiro, P. Hassrick, Frederic Remington: The Masterworks, New York, 1988, pp.184-85, pls. 52-53, another example illustrated.
Gerald Peters Gallery, Frederic Remington, exhibition catalogue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1991, pp. 83, 85, another example illustrated.
R. Stewart, Frederic Remington: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 1992, pp. 32-33, another example illustrated.
M.D. Greenbaum, Icons of the West: Frederic Remington's Sculpture, Ogdensburg, New York, 1996, pp. 76-83, 201, another example illustrated.
Gerald Peters Gallery, Remington: The Years of Critical Acclaim, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1998, pp. 94-95, another example illustrated.
T. Tolles, American Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. I, New York, 1999, p. 395, another example illustrated.
B. Dippie, The Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection, Ogdensburg, New York, 2001, pp. 150-53, another example illustrated.

Lot Essay

Also known as 'The Triumph,' Frederic Remington's fourth bronze, 'The Scalp,' is the artist's first sculptural depiction of a Native American subject. In the present work, Remington has rendered a Sioux warrior in a dignified and victorious pose, heroically placed atop a horse that is in mid-stride, coming to an energetic halt. Commenting on 'The Scalp' specifically, R.W. Gilder, editor of The Century wrote to Remington in 1906 that he, "went the other day to see those ripping bronzes of yours. They are all thoroughly alive and thoroughly original. There was one that impressed me especially, as it had more beauty than some of the others, though they all have the beauty of life. I mean the solitary Indian with his arm up, apparently shouting defiance...and the horse in that is especially fine." (as quoted in B.W. Dippie, The Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection, Ogdensburg, New York, 2001, pp. 151-52) Only eleven sand castings of 'The Scalp' were completed by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co. before Remington chose to use Roman Bronze Works. Once Remington switched to the lost wax casting method with the new foundry, he was able to vary the details in each cast. The present sculpture is one of fourteen examples of 'The Scalp' cast by Roman Bronze Works.

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