Biography - Frederic Remington - Part II

The bronze did not sell.  It happens frequently in the auction business. Bidding fails to reach a minimum selling level as agreed by on by both the auctioneer and the consignor. Steven Liebson, of Three Generations Antiques, was working with his family business, Astor Galleries in those years. He was looking at the valuable Frederic Remington sculpture called, The Rattlesnake, when the phone rang.

"Steve, this Ira, from Spanierman Gallery. I've got an important client interested in the Remington. He wants to look at it alone … after hours, OK?"

"Sure," Steve said.

Five-thirty PM, a long black limousine pulled up to the curb. Two tall men, hopped out, nodded hello, and began casing the building, wall to wall. After a few minutes, one of the men returned to the car to escort his boss inside.

Who was this customer?  Steve thought, a movie star, a gangster, maybe a Texas oil baron.

As described in writings from the Frederick Remington Art Museum (315-393-2425) in Ogdensburg, New York, Frederic Remington (1861-1909) cast 22 different subjects in bronze. The first foundry with which he worked was the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company in New York. Four different sculptures were cast, starting in 1895, using the sand-casting method. They were the Broncho Buster, the Wounded Bunkie, the Wicked Pony and the Scalp. In 1900, Remington began working exclusively with the Roman Bronze Works, New York. They produced his bronzes using the lost-wax bronze casting process until his death in 1909.

Remington's widow, Eva, authorized the foundry to continue casting Remington's bronzes, still using the same molds, until her death in 1918. In accordance with Eva Remington's will, the molds were destroyed by the foundry shortly after her death. There is no such thing as an "authentic reproduction" in the case of Remington bronzes. If you are wondering whether something is original or not, consider the price that's being asked and the circumstances under which it is being offered for sale.

Here are three things to look for to reassure yourself further that a particular sculpture is not an original Remington bronze: 1. Foundry mark. Most copies bear no indication of where they were made. Authentic sculptures are made with the foundry's name clearly cast into the bronze base. 2. In very few instances will an authentic cast be mounted on a marble base. Copies are frequently mounted on them.

There is always great curiosity about numbering. Original bronzes are numbered sequentially. They were made and numbered more or less according to the demand, i.e. 1,2,3, etc., not 1/100 or 19/50. Many copies are misleadingly numbered in this second "3/100" fashion. The location of the number on original sculptures is usually under the bronze base."  3. If it's priced less than $100,000.

Genuine "first period" Remington bronzes, paintings, and other artworks are beyond the means of all but the wealthiest collectors.  Two areas still obtainable are books and prints.

Remington was one of the highest paid illustrators of his day. By 1890 more than two hundred of his illustrations had appeared in Harper's, Century, Outing, and Collier's Weekly magazines and in numerous books, several of which he authored.