The End of the Day by Frederic Remington
The Sid Richardson Museum has opened a new exhibit expected to reveal a little-known side of artist Frederic Remington, best known for his iconic paintings depicting the American West.
“Another Frontier: Frederic Remington’s East” features paintings and artifacts on loan from the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg New York, as well as archival items from the St. Lawrence University Special Collections Library in Canton, New York, both located in the region where the artist grew up. The paintings, letters, photographs, sketches, and diary entries take visitors far from Remington’s West to introduce them to the artist’s circle of Eastern friends, and to his beloved North Country.
The opening celebration featured free Steel City Pops and selfies with North Country props. On Saturday, September 15, the celebration continues with free Steel City Pops from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. while supplies last, and guided tours of the exhibit at 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Open daily, the museum offers free admission and docent-guided tours every Tuesday and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Visit sidrichardsonmuseum.org for hours, location and a calendar of special events and programs.
While painting scenes of American Indians galloping through the open plains or cowboys astride their steed, Remington’s New York studio was surrounded by the landscapes of the North Country, from the lakes and foothills of the Adirondacks to the Saint Lawrence River and the forests of Canada, inspiring him to recreate their beauty on canvas.
“Frederic Remington was literally at home in Upstate New York, and his paintings of the scenery and history of the North Country offer appealing variations on his frontier subject matter. This exhibition invites viewers to see a Western master afresh,” said Canadian-born author and historian Dr. Brian W. Dippie, noted scholar on the art and popular culture of the American West.
“Another Frontier: Frederic Remington’s East” includes paintings of a campsite at Chippewa Bay, sketches of Remington and his wife, Eva, in the St. Lawrence River, a photo of Remington in the studio of his summer home in Ingleneuk, a 1908 diary, and paintings from friends whose work Remington admired such as American artists Childe Hassam and Willard Metcalf.
As part of an unprecedented exchange between the two museums, nine iconic Remington Western paintings from the Sid Richardson Museum have been loaned to the New York museum. Since 1982, the Sid Richardson Museum has featured a superb collection of late 19th- and early 20th- century art depicting the American West, largely pieces that once made up the personal collection of legendary Texas oilman and philanthropist Sid W. Richardson (1891-1959). The museum is considered to have one of the most significant private collections of Remington and Russell paintings in the U.S.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Remington museum in New York and bring these extraordinary Remington paintings to our community. They will add another dimension to our patrons’ enjoyment and understanding of Remington and complement the masterworks in the Sid Richardson’s permanent collection,” said Pete Geren, president and CEO of the Sid Richardson Foundation.
Remington’s art has so profoundly shaped perceptions of the Old West that many are not aware that he was an Easterner born and bred. He grew up in the North Country of New York. He attended Yale, briefly settled in the West, and then lived and had studios in New York and Connecticut. He made numerous trips to the West over the years, but composed the majority of his illustrations, paintings, sculptures, and writings in the East.
The paintings on view date, with one exception, from the first decade of the 20th century, before Remington’s premature death at age 48. During this period, while he continued his prolific production of Western imagery, he was influenced by the impressionist art movement and inspired to paint striking contemporary North Country compositions. He yearned to move beyond his popular success as an illustrator to critical fame as a fine artist.
“Another Frontier: Frederic Remington’s East” takes us to the studio of a mature Remington, painting the natural world around him and imbuing it with a sense of peace and mystery.
“By shifting the focus from his popular Western imagery to his less familiar Eastern subjects, this special exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the context in which Remington worked, while gaining a deeper appreciation of his artistic talent,” said Dr. Mark Thistlethwaite, Kimbell Chair of Art History at Texas Christian University and guest curator of “Another Frontier.”
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