In discussing Remington’s sculpture, Harold McCracken wrote, “Frederic Remington entered the field of sculpture as another means of perpetuating the American West. The image of the old-time cowboy and Indian of the Plains will live longer because of his effort and ability. Self-taught in modeling clay as he had been in drawing and painting, his first attempt resulted in The Broncho Buster. ‘I always had a feeling for mud,’ he facetiously explained, ‘and I did that … I wanted to do something a burglar wouldn’t have, moths eat, or time blacken.’ That first attempt at sculpture was acclaimed an outstanding success. Today it is the best known work of its kind by any American artist.”

PROVENANCE
Estate of Miriam Madeline Cohen
Christie’s, New York, New York, 1980
Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York
Tom B., Jr. and Rosemary Medders, 1980
Estate of Rosemary Medders, Wichita Falls, Texas
Coeur d’Alene Art Auction, Reno, Nevada, 2011
Private collection, Tulsa, Oklahoma

LITERATURE
Harold McCracken, Frederic Remington: Artist of the Old West, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1947, plate 41, example illustrated
Harold McCracken, The Frederic Remington Book, Doubleday, 1966, p. 255, example illustrated
Peter H. Hassrick, Frederic Remington: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Collections, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1973, pp. 180-81, example illustrated
Patricia Janice Broder, Bronzes of the American West, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1974, pp. 131-34, example illustrated
Bruce Wear, The 2nd Bronze World of Frederic Remington, Ranch Publishing, 1976, pp. 56-57, example illustrated
Michael Edward Shapiro, Cast and Recast: The Sculpture of Frederic Remington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981, p. 91, illustrated
Michael Edward Shapiro, Frederic Remington: The Masterworks, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988, pp. 172-75, 233, back cover, example illustrated
James K. Ballinger, Frederic Remington, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989, p. 74, example illustrated
Michael D. Greenbaum, Icons of the West, Frederic Remington’s Sculpture, Frederic Remington Art Museum, 1996, cover, pp. 29, 47, 51-64, example illustrated
Peter H. Hassrick, Frederic Remington: A Catalogue Raisonné, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 2016, vol. II, pp. 57-59, 121, 123, 125, 160-61, 171, example illustrated

Additional Resources

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

Condition ReportBronze is in good condition. Spot of patina loss on of the straps of rider’s whip.

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.