The Frederic Remington catalogue raisonné project had its inception in the mid-1980s when researchers began work on a major exhibition, endeavoring to reassess the artist’s place in American art history. Titled Frederic Remington: The Masterworks, the exhibition was jointly organized by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and The Saint Louis Art Museum. Michael Shapiro, James Burke and Rick Simoncelli of the latter institution provided curatorial and administrative support to guarantee a felicitous tour for the exhibition. In Cody, research for that show focused on the artist’s paintings and drawings, suggesting early on that a full review of Remington’s flatwork might reveal important new insights into the artist’s methods and creative force.
Together, the authors of the present volume began to investigate the possibility of compiling a formal catalogue raisonné on Remington. In order that we might take full advantage of similar efforts that had gone before us, we revisited the cataloging initiatives of our predecessors, Harold McCracken. Helen Card, Joseph McCarrell and others. Of particular help were the Thomas J. Watson Library at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and two art dealers, Michael Frost of the J.N. Bartfield Gallery and Peter Davidson. Each of these shared with us their sets of Helen Card scrapbooks, which had been assembled in the 1950s. Davidson actually loaned us his set of the scrapbooks and, in 1994, graciously gave us his set. Throughout the years these scrapbooks have been an invaluable asset to the project.
Probably the most important resource for gathering information related to Remington’s flatwork has been the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg, New York. This project was conceived originally as a cooperative effort between the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the Frederic Remington Art Museum. Their board and staff, especially Lowell McAllister and Laura Foster, have made legion efforts to cooperate and support the research. Their archival collections have been especially important in helping to build and verify records on major Remington works. This volume is essentially the result of that institutional union.
A project of this dimension could not have moved forward without substantial financial support. William B. Ruger, Jr., in a remarkable expression of generosity, provided monies to underwrite the cost of publishing the catalogue raisonné. For this we are profoundly grateful. The Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation additionally assisted with financial support to help produce the CD-ROM component. And over the years, numerous board members, advisory board members and Historical Center friends have contributed to move the project along and underwrite the cost of researching and assembling the vast quantities of materials necessary to complete the project. These include Wiley T. Buchanan, III: D. Harold Byrd, Jr.; Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Cushman; John F. Eulich; Michael D. Greenbaum; Mr. and Mrs. Alan F. Horn; J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation; Robert L. Mehl; Mr. and Mrs. Leverett Miller; Mrs. J. Maxwell Moran; Mr. and Mrs. Allan P. Newell; Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas R. Petry; Philip Morris Companies, Inc., in memory of Chandler Kibbie; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Sample; Richard J. Schwartz; Sydney M. Shoenberg, Jr.; Hawley L. Smith; Mr. and Mrs. William D. Weiss; William E. Weiss; William J. Williams; Wunderlich Galleries; and Peters Galleries, Inc.
This catalogue raisonné was also inspired and encouraged by two other groups. The Whitney Advisory Board of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, under the leadership of William D. Weiss, provided moral and material support from the very beginning and encouraged the project throughout its development. In addition, we would not have been able to proceed without important models to follow. These included Carol Clark’s catalogue raisonné on Maurice and Charles Prendergast and her research on Thomas Moran, and Stuart Feld’s research on Childe Hassam. Dr. Clark also read drafts of the essays for this publication and offered astute and helpful comments. The computer system which enabled us to organize and maintain appropriate records was provided courtesy of James Maroney and Margaret Blagg.
We are grateful to the numerous individuals who have shared with us information about the Remington works in their private collections, and to their descendants. They have willingly filled out detailed inquiry sheets and have gone beyond the call of duty in sending their artworks off to be photographed, or have allowed unknown photographers into their homes to photograph their works. We know it has been an imposition and we are indebted to them.
Many galleries and art dealers have provided us with information and hundreds of photographs. Rudy Wunderlich, Stephen Good, Michael Frost and Gerald Peters have been consistently and exceptionally supportive of our efforts. Peggy and Harold Samuels, Remington’s renowned biographers, generously opened their records to the museum and donated over two decades of accumulated research material and photographs to our project. We are grateful to Nancy Little and Melissa De Medeiros at M. Knoedler & Co.; Lillian Brenwasser at Kennedy Galleries Inc.; M.P. Naud at Hirschi & Adler; Julie Schimmel, Catherine Hathaway and Dara L.P. Powell at Gerald Peters Gallery; Tony Altermann at Altermann & Morris Galleries; A.P. Hays at Arizona West Galleries, Inc.; John Apgar at J.N. Bartfield Galleries and the staffs at Vose Galleries and Coe Kerr Gallery. From the inception of the project, the staff at James Graham & Sons has unwaveringly responded to our repeated requests as have Martin Kodner and his staff at the Gallery of the Masters. We have received invaluable assistance from auction houses and we would like to thank in particular Peter Rathbone and Kay Childs at Sotheby’s; Andrew Schoelkopf at Christie’s; and Barry Heisler and Rosalie Lack at Butterfield & Butterfield.
Remington’s art has found its way into museums all over the country. The curators, registrars, museum librarians and archivists at these institutions have gladly shared their files with us. In particular we would like to thank Melissa Thompson, Kathleen Bennewitz, Milan Huston and Sheri Tufts at the Amon Carter Museum; Jan Brenneman and Monica Herman at the Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art; Jerry M. Bloomer at The R.W. Norton Art Gallery: James K. Ballinger at the Phoenix Art Museum; Karen De Ponceau-Flint and Susan Kowalczyk at The Rockwell Museum; Stephanie Qualls and Anne Wheeler at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame; Linda Wilhelm and Kara Gustafson at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Anne Morand at The Gilcrease Museum; Doreen Burke at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Jerry M. Mallick at the National Gallery of Art Photo Archives.
Numerous libraries, historical societies and scholars have been unfailingly cooperative. In particular, we would like to thank Elsie Maylott at the Library of Congress; Judy Throm at the Archives of American Art; Eleanor M. Gehres and Kay Wisnia at the Denver Public Library; and Wallace Dailey, Curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College Library. We are also indebted to dedicated staff members at the California State Library; the Getty Research Center; the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library at Bakersfield College; the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley; and The New-York Historical Society. Special thanks goes to Michael Harrison at the Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western Research Center, University of California, Davis, both for sharing his Western collection and for his unflagging support; and special thanks also go to William E. and Beverly R. Webster for their encouragement and editorial guidance.
Over the course of the project we have received the help of countless others—historians, collectors, dealers, librarians and academicians, who have answered questions, provided information and made possible the advance of our research. We thank them all, and would like to acknowledge in particular Richard Myers, Joan Barrick, Estelle Jussim, Marilyn and Allen Splete, Mr. and Mrs. William P. Healey, Linda Lebsack, M. Douglas Nelson, Clark Carrier, Helen Lento and John T. Ordeman.
During the eleven years of this project, we have documented and tried to locate approximately 3,000 Remington artworks, a task that has necessitated the help of research assistants, interns, and volunteers here at the Historical Center. We are indebted to research assistants Johanna Gaskill and Rebecca West for their dedication and tenacity. We would like to thank the following interns for their indispensable contributions to the research: Jennifer Kruger, Adrienne Ruger, Ronna Nemitz and Celia Curtis. We would like to recognize Marilyn Jensen, Marie Knox, Jennifer Turner, loyal volunteers, for their assistance, enthusiasm for Remington and his art and their steadfast support of the project. We would also like to thank a number of volunteers and interns who have worked on the project including Betty Skalsky, Kathleen Pardee, Gail Giroux, Raymond Bast. Devin Reynolds, Jennie Harris, Andreas Kornfeld and Chris Gimmeson. We particularly thank Marik Turbes and Bill House for their technical expertise in digital design.
In addition, within our institution, many members of the staff have given graciously of their time, talent and energy to facilitate the project and help bring it to a successful conclusion. We would especially like to acknowledge the welcome support of Joanne Patterson and Elizabeth Holmes in the registration office; Al Minnick, Christina Stopka, Frances Clymer and Joan Murra in the McCracken Research Library; Robert Weiglein, Ginger Heasler, Devendra Shrikhande and Lucille Warters in the photography department; Herb Houze, Howie Madaus, Paul Fees, Emma Hansen and Sarah Boehme of the curatorial staff; Sylvia Huber and Teresa Robertson of our secretarial staff; and a very special thanks to Suzanne Tyler, who has supervised the production of the publication, designer Jan Woods, typesetter Karen Gee, editor Courtney Fischer and consulting editor Leigh McEwan Dunn.
Peter H. Hassrick and Melissa J. Webster