Originally published in Points West magazine
Fall 2007
Buckers and buckaroos in American art
By Mindy N. Besaw
For Wyoming residents, the iconic image of the cowboy riding a bucking bronco is part of everyday life. As a matter of fact, the bucking bronco was added to the state license plate in 1936 and has been a symbol of Wyoming ever since.
Where did the image of the horse and rider originate, and why is this relevant to cowboys in art? In the 1930s, an artist, Allen True, designed the image of the horse and rider used on the license plate. He was not the first artist to grapple with the subject though; nor was he the last.
Historically, the mounted horseman appears in many forms in world art. However, the cowboy on a bucking bronco is a uniquely American theme that depicts the classic struggle between man and animal. Many artists of the American West enjoy the challenge of capturing the action and tension of cowboy and horse at the height of exertion and extension. The small silhouette of the bronco on the Wyoming license plate is only one of the many interpretations of bronc and rider.
The tradition of the bucking bronco in American art began in the nineteenth century with artists such as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Since that time, both men and women have tackled the subject in oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and sculptures. Three bronze sculptures from the collection of the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West are excellent examples of how artists have met this challenge.
Frederic Remington’s The Broncho Buster was created in 1895. This artwork became the prototype of the cowboy and bucking horse from which perhaps all other sculptures of the subject originated. Following in the footsteps of Remington, Sally James Farnham completed The Sun Fisher, after a visit to western Canada in 1912. Finally, Fred Fellows brings the classic subject into the present with No Easy Way Out, created in 1991. While these sculptures are all variations of the same subject, each has subtleties and differences worthy of a closer look.
Frederic Remington (1861–1909) is a hero of western American art. He built his reputation as one of the greatest American artists to ever live with his depictions of the wild West. Remington’s western subjects of cowboys, Indians, and cavalrymen brought the West to an eastern audience in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While he championed cowboy life and was intimately familiar with horses, he was not a cowboy. Remington lived most of his life in upper New York state, although he often traveled to the West.
The Broncho Buster was Remington’s first experiment with sculpture and garnered him immediate recognition and attention. As a sculptor, Remington was concerned with the spirit of motion. He pushed the limits of bronze casting by creating a dynamic and seemingly unbalanced sculpture. The horse rears up on its hind legs, thrusting the center of gravity forward into mid air. Remington’s attention to detail with the stirrups flung to the side, whip jerking backward, and the tip of the cowboy’s neckerchief blowing outward, contributes to the overall effect of lively action.
The Broncho Buster quickly became the most popular American bronze statuette at the turn of the twentieth century with approximately 160 sculptures cast during Remington’s lifetime. Remington was very active in the casting of the sculptures and often changed details slightly from one version to another —making many of the sculptures unique variations of the original design.
Sally James Farnham (1869–1943) was a tomboy who enjoyed the outdoors, especially horseback riding and hunting. Farnham was born and attended school in Ogdensburg, New York, the home of Frederic Remington.
Although she had no formal art school training, Farnham began modeling in clay while recuperating from an illness. Remington saw her first sculpture and encouraged her to continue sculpting. Farnham learned much from Remington and other talented sculptors throughout her successful career.
Remington’s influence may have been why Farnham was drawn to western subjects. In the summer of 1912, she traveled to western Canada to see firsthand the western horses and men that Remington portrayed in his sculptures. The Sun Fisher was most likely conceived and modeled while she was in Canada. The figure and horse are rendered with elegant naturalism and grace. The cowboy and bronco balance one another as the cowboy’s leg and arm jerk to the right, while the horse thrusts to the left. Amazingly, Farnham skillfully balanced the sculpture with only one horse hoof on the ground.
Today, cowboy artist and Arizona resident Fred Fellows (born 1934) continues the tradition of Remington, Farnham, and others. Fellows grew up in Oklahoma and California, and as a child, he was always drawing. After working as a commercial artist and a saddle maker in Los Angeles, Fellows devoted his life full time to art in 1964.
Fellows’ No Easy Way Out is a modern-day version of The Broncho Buster. Again, the cowboy rides atop an unruly horse that twists and turns and arches on one leg to buck the cowboy off his back. The horse’s mane and tail are agitated with the force of the movement, while the cowboy struggles to “ride it out.”
The image of the cowboy riding a bucking bronco remains an emblem of the wild and untamed West. Artists throughout history and today have risen to the challenge of capturing the action and vitality of bronc and rider—indeed, the classic American cowboy. On your next visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, take a few extra moments to admire this symbol of Wyoming and iconic subject portrayed masterfully in art.
About the author
Mindy N. Besaw was formerly the Margaret and Dick Scarlett Curator of Western American Art for the Whitney Western Art Museum.
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