VERSO
Label, McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri

When Her Man’s Work Was Done is included in the Frederic Remington Catalogue Raisonné as number 1445.

Harold McCracken, writing in his study of Remington, offered the following cultural context in relation to the painting: “There was a time when the buffalo ranged from Georgia to Alaska. Within the time of Europeans the range was chiefly between the Allegheny and Rocky mountains and from below the Rio Grande northward to Great Slave Lake.

“While waiting for the migrating herds to come north in the spring, the tribesmen held elaborate ceremonies and religious incantations and prayers by the medicine men were performed to ensure and hasten the return of the buffalo. During this time the scouts roamed out as far as they could to hasten back with the good news. When the first of the animals were taken there were celebration and feasting.

“In the days before the horse, the Indian foot hunters resorted to every possible manner of killing the buffalo – driving them over low cliffs and then attacking the injured animals with arrows, spears, and stone axes; surrounding small bunches with a large circle of hunters; setting up pens to confine the animals temporarily; and by camouflaging themselves so the hunter might get close enough to shoot his arrows. The horse provided the means of riding alongside or into the stampeding herd and selecting the animals of their choice.

“The tribes were governed by a communal form of life. Regulations controlled the cutting up of the animals and the distribution of the parts. The skin and certain choice sections belonged to the man who had slain the buffalo. This was determined by the personal identification mark on his arrow, as indicated in the above picture. The remainder of the carcass was usually divided among the helpers, according to tribal rules, which provided an opportunity for the less fortunate to share the food.”

PROVENANCE
Herbert Roman Inc., New York, New York
Kodner Gallery of the Masters, St. Louis, Missouri
McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
Private collection, Saint Charles, Missouri

LITERATURE
Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail, 1892, p. 236, illustrated
Harold McCracken, The Frederic Remington Book, Doubleday, 1966, p. 82, illustrated

Additional Resources

• Absentee & Phone Bid Form
• Frederic Remington’s Past Results
• View Condition Report

Condition ReportAs viewed through glass. Work appears to be in good condition.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders and reflect educated opinions, not facts. All painting frames are sold “as is.” The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.