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Pitched It Sheer into the River . . . Where It Still Is Seen in the Summer

1889
Not on view
In 1888 Remington was commissioned to illustrate The Song of Hiawatha, the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, for a deluxe edition published in 1891. By then a sophisticated practitioner of the grisaille technique, Remington executed twenty-two black-and-white oil paintings, one for each of the poem’s cantos. This depiction accompanies canto 6, which describes Hiawatha’s two closest friends: Chibiabos, the musician, and Kwasind, the strong man. The jagged boulder in the river alludes to one of Kwasind’s feats of strength. Taunted with accusations of laziness, he threw a huge rock into the Pauwating River, where it remained visible above the waterline during the summer months.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pitched It Sheer into the River . . . Where It Still Is Seen in the Summer
  • Artist: Frederic Remington (American, Canton, New York 1861–1909 Ridgefield, Connecticut)
  • Date: 1889
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 20 x 28 1/4in. (50.8 x 71.8cm)
  • Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1962
  • Object Number: 62.241.3
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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Minnehaha, Edmonia Lewis American, Marble, American
Minnehaha
Edmonia Lewis
1868
Hiawatha, Edmonia Lewis American, Marble, American
Hiawatha
Edmonia Lewis
1868
Hiawatha, Augustus Saint-Gaudens American, Marble, American
Hiawatha
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
1871–72, carved 1874
A Reconnaissance, Frederic Remington American, Oil on canvas, American
A Reconnaissance
Frederic Remington
1902
The Smoke Signal, Frederic Remington American, Color lithograph
The Smoke Signal
Frederic Remington
1923–60

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