Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909)
Bronze
20 1/4 x 25 x 8 in. (51.4 x 63.5 x 20.3 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1907 (07.80)
In 1901, Remington modeled The Cheyenne, an Indian racing on horseback. Wearing only a loincloth and moccasins, the gaunt, muscular, smooth-skinned rider leans forward, gripping his mustang with his legs and clutching a spear in his left hand and a quirt in his right. His mount is depicted full gallop, or "burning the air," as Remington described it: ears back, tail flowing in the wind, and all four hooves off the ground. The finely chased buffalo skin that serves as a saddle trails off the horse to its right and, with a clump of grass, functions as the sculpture's support. All of the horse's hooves are off the ground in the gallop, and thus The Cheyenne effectively captures the urgent sense of forward motion that Remington intended.
In 1900, Remington switched from the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, which used the sand-casting procedure, to the Roman Bronze Works and the lost-wax technique. The lost-wax casting process, new in the United States, allowed the artist more freedom to experiment with the bronze medium and variations are apparent with each example of The Cheyenne. It also allowed for greater detail, for instance in the hairy texture of the horse's hide and the woolly quality of the buffalo skin. Remington oversaw every step of his bronzes' production. The synergistic relationship between Remington and Roman Bronze Works resulted in some of the most outstanding sculptures produced in this country. Altogether about twenty-one casts of The Cheyenne were produced in Remington's lifetime.
