The Rattlesnake

Details

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
The Rattlesnake
inscribed 'Copyr***' indistinctly and 'Frederic Remington' (on the base)—inscribed 'ROMAN BRONZE WORKS N-Y-' (along the base)—inscribed 'No/94.' (under the base)
bronze with brown patina
22 ½ in. (57.2 cm.) high
Modeled circa 1908; cast after 1918.

Provenance

Mrs. Frances K. Noyes, West Newton, Massachusetts.
Boynton Merrill, Jr., Henderson, Kentucky, gift from the above, 1964.
By descent to the present owners.

Literature

H. McCracken, Frederic Remington: Artist of the Old West, New York, 1947, n.p., pl. 47, another example illustrated.
The Paine Art Center and Arboretum, Frederic Remington: A Retrospective Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, exhibition catalogue, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1967, n.p., no. 52, another example illustrated.
P.H. Hassrick, Frederic Remington: Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Collections, New York, 1973, pp. 200-01, another example illustrated.
Denver Art Museum, Frederic Remington: The Late Years, exhibition catalogue, Denver, Colorado, 1981, p. 61, another example illustrated.
M.E. Shapiro, Cast and Recast: The Sculpture of Frederic Remington, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C., 1981, pp. 54, 111, another example illustrated.
M.E. Shapiro, P.H. Hassrick, Frederic Remington: The Masterworks, New York, 1988, pp. 212-13, pls. 59-60, another example illustrated.
Gerald Peters Gallery, Frederic Remington, exhibition catalogue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1991, pp. 16, 43, 45, another example illustrated.
M.D. Greenbaum, Icons of the West: Frederic Remington's Sculpture, Ogdensburg, New York, 1996, pp. 123-28, 198, another example illustrated.
Gerald Peters Gallery, Remington: The Years of Critical Acclaim, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1998, pp. 110-11, another example illustrated.
B. Dippie, The Frederic Remington Art Museum Collection, Ogdensburg, New York, 2001, pp. 198-201, another example illustrated.

Brought to you by

William Haydock

whaydock@christies.com + 1 212 636 2140

Lot Essay

The Rattlesnake was first copyrighted in 1905 and then re-worked by the artist three years later in a larger version. Michael Greenbaum notes that "the rearing bronc and rider, posed masterfully in a spiraling sweep of motion, became one of Remington's most popular works. The artist's 'marvelous knowledge of anatomy, action and expression' were strikingly infused in the bronze's unfolding drama. Shortly after it was completed, Collier's further called it 'the work of a master's hand.'" (Icons of the West: Frederic Remington's Sculpture, Ogdensburg, New York, 1996, p. 123)

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