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The Rattlesnake

Founder Cast by Roman Bronze Works
1905, revised 1908; this cast, before 1939
Not on view
“The Rattlesnake” depicts a horse twisted in a reaction of fright to a rattlesnake as the rider grabs the horse’s mane with his left hand and holds his hat on with his right. This statuette was second only to “The Broncho Buster” (1986.81.2) in popularity, with some 100 casts produced before Remington’s original models were destroyed in 1921. The Metropolitan’s bronze is almost certainly a posthumous, unauthorized cast done by Roman Bronze Works.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Rattlesnake
  • Artist: Frederic Remington (American, Canton, New York 1861–1909 Ridgefield, Connecticut)
  • Founder: Cast by Roman Bronze Works
  • Date: 1905, revised 1908; this cast, before 1939
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 23 1/8 x 17 3/4 x 14 1/2 in. (58.7 x 45.1 x 36.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Jacob Ruppert, 1939
  • Object Number: 39.65.43a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Smoke Signal, Frederic Remington American, Color lithograph
The Smoke Signal
Frederic Remington
1923–60
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. LXXXI, No. 485, Frederic Remington American, Illustrations: wood engravings
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. LXXXI, No. 485
Multiple artists/makers
October 1890
The Century, New Year's Number, January, Frederic Remington American, Lithograph
The Century, New Year's Number, January
Frederic Remington
1902
A Southern Rider, from "Some American Riders," for "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," August 1891, Frederic Remington American, Woodblock
A Southern Rider, from "Some American Riders," for "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," August 1891
Frederic Remington
Theodore Ayrault Dodge
1891
The Portage Sleigh on a Lumber Road, for "Antoine's Moose-Yard," for "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," October 1890, Frederic Remington American, Woodblock
The Portage Sleigh on a Lumber Road, for "Antoine's Moose-Yard," for "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," October 1890
Frederic Remington
Julian Ralph
1890

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