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On the Head-Waters--Burgess Finding a Ford

ca. 1893
Not on view
In summer 1893 Remington visited Yellowstone, America’s first national park, to research an article on its soldiers for Harper’s Weekly. While there, he joined superintendent George S. Anderson and longtime government scout Felix Burgess on an expedition to the park’s backcounty in search of animal poachers. This watercolor depicts Burgess leading a group of mounted soldiers and pack mules through a spongy mountain meadow in search of solid ground. It served first as the study for an illustration accompanying "Policing the Yellowstone" in Harper’s Weekly on January 12, 1895, and later as a chapter illustration in Remington’s anthology Pony Tracks.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: On the Head-Waters--Burgess Finding a Ford
  • Artist: Frederic Remington (American, Canton, New York 1861–1909 Ridgefield, Connecticut)
  • Date: ca. 1893
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Watercolor on paper
  • Dimensions: 20 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. (52.1 x 77.5 cm)

  • Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1962
  • Object Number: 62.241.2
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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