Newquist Bronze Collection by Lee Newquist

The Patricia & Harvey Newquist Collection Remington Bronze Sculptures

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Introduction Frederic Remington traveled west repeatedly. He loved the idea of the frontier and greatly admired the rough and heroic cowboys and soldiers he met there. He enjoyed meeting them, hearing their stories and following their lives in his visits as a journalist/illustrator In 1886, Remington was sent to Arizona by Harper’s Weekly on a commission as an artist-correspondent to cover the government’s war against Geronimo. Although he never caught up with him, Remington did acquire many authentic artifacts to be used later as props, and made many photos and sketches valuable for later paintings and sculptures. Ironically, art critics later criticized his palette as “primitive and unnatural” even though it was based on actual observation In 1895 Remington began to make sculptures, producing 22 different subjects. He worked in clay. His clay models were cast in bronze at art foundries. His first four subjects were cast using the sand casting method at the Henry-Bonnard Co. In 1898 he began working exclusively with Roman Bronze Works, N.Y., which employed the lost wax casting method.

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)

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For many years, western paintings and sculptures have adorned our Arizona homes where they have been enjoyed by our large family and many visitors. And the pleasure has not only been in viewing these outstanding pieces. On one occasion, a blind friend traced his fingers over these bronzes and it was a distinct pleasure for him. Our Remington collection was authenticated by Paul A. Rossi, who is considered a foremost authority on western art and history as well as an author and a superb artist himself. A former Director of the Thomas Gilchrease Institute of American History and Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his set of twelve miniature bronzes, “The Great Saddles of the West”, were in the Oval Office of the White House and now they are on display in the Reagan Presidential Library. Remington’s prototype cowboys were Mexican rancheros. We are proud that one of our sculptures is a part of the permanent collection of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. It houses one of the finest collections of Remington bronzes, and is internationally recognized as a repository of Western art.

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PROVENANCE Private collection of James L. Anthony, New York, NY until 1976 Private collection of Patricia and Harvey Newquist, Scottsdale, AZ to present

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The Cheyenne was the second of Remington's bronzes, following The Norther, to be cast solely at the Roman Bronze Works with the highly textured surface produced by the lost-wax technique. The tour-de-force of balance and casting with all four of the horse's hoofs off the ground reflects the joint artistic and technical efforts of the sculptor and the foundrymen. Riccardo Bertelli, founder of Roman Bronze Works, once said in an interview "[Remington] always wanted to have his horses with all four feet off the ground. I sometimes had quite a time with him." Remington's quest for fluidity in still motion and Bertelli's technical skills coalesced in a work that elevated the talents of each. The bronze was Remington's first model to be cast in one piece. After the first eight casts, Remington made several changes to the work, most notably lowering the shield from its position high on the Indianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back to a point touching the back of the horse. At the same time, the artist added feathers to the shield and earrings to the warrior, and turned the head more to the left..

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The Mountain Man Inscribed “Copyrighted by Frederic Remington” (© 1903) on left side Stamped “Roman Bronze Works NY “on right side of the base Number 55 beneath the base (c. 1919) Bronze, black patina Height: 28 ½ in. (72.4 cm) PROVENANCE Private collection of James L. Anthony, New York, NY until 1976 Private collection of Patricia and Harvey Newquist, Scottsdale, AZ to present

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Frederic Remington's The Mountain Man (or Mountain Trapper) captures a moment in which the skill and sheer nerve of the frontiersman defy the hazards of life in the American West. The rider’s dress and gear are suggestive of a Hudson Bay man of the 1830’s. He is wearing buckskin with a fur cap and Indian made moccasins, traditional outfit for the seasoned mountain man of the period. His knife and quirt are also Indian style. The rifle is an English trade musket, probably cut down for ease of use on horseback. A powder horn is slung on his right side in front of and centered in the middle of the ammunition pouch. His buffalo hide bed roll is tied behind the cantle of his saddle. The artist's attentive eye is evident in the subtle backward lean of the rider in the saddle and the fine delineation of the horse's tensed musculature. By the time Remington first created his 1903 bronze The Mountain Man, the era of the frontier fur trapper had long since disappeared and the mountain men themselves had emerged as romantic western icons. Remington's Indian trapper would have been a lone traveler who for months at a time had to survive in the unforgiving Rocky Mountain terrain. The main subject (horse and rider) is on a relatively large base, almost equal proportionately to the figures, making a good artistic balance and pleasing composition. The foundry utilized “Roman Joints” which are indicative of this early construction. These all aid to make this piece a priority casting among Remington sculpture collectors.

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The Savage Inscribed “Frederic Remington 1908” on back Stamped “Roman Bronze Works NY” on back Inscribed “Copyrighted by Frederic Remington” (© 1908) on right side Inscribed No. 6 in wax pattern beneath the base Roman Bronze Works Ledger 5/28/15 Bronze, with black patina Height: 11 in. (27.94 cm) PROVENANCE Private collection of James L. Anthony, New York, NY until 1976 Private collection of Patricia and Harvey Newquist, Scottsdale, AZ to present

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The Savage (or Indian Brave) is a bust of a Plains Indian warrior depicted wearing earrings, no headdress or other hair pieces. This was the 16th subject sculpted by Remington. As noted, it was copyrighted in 1908, just one year prior to his death. The intense expression of his portrait of the Native American warrior conjures up the tension and fresh wounds of recent battles, bloodshed and broken treaties. The strong will expressed by this Indian survivor is Remington's salute to the spirit of the warriors of the Western frontier. In the Old' West of 1881, he saw the vast prairies, the quickly shrinking buffalo herds, the still unfenced cattle, and the last major confrontations of U.S. Cavalry and native American tribes, scenes he had imagined since his childhood. Though the trip was undertaken as a lark, it gave Remington a more authentic view of the West than some of the later artists and writers who followed in his footsteps. Remington's attitude toward Native Americans was typical for the time. He thought them unfathomable, fearless, superstitious, ignorant, and pitiless-and generally portrayed them as such. White men under attack were brave and noble.

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The Sergeant Inscribed “Frederic Remington” right side Inscribed “Copyrighted by Frederic Remington” (© 1904) on back Stamped “Roman Bronze Works NY” on back of base Number 75 beneath the base (c. 1919) Bronze, greenish black patina Height: 10.25 in. (726.04 cm) PROVENANCE Private collection of Dr. Florio, Pennsylvania until 1976 Private collection of Patricia and Harvey Newquist, Scottsdale, AZ to present

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The Sergeant (or Rough Rider Sergeant) was the tenth subject sculpted by Remington. His fame made him a favorite of the Western Army officers fighting the last Indian battles. He was invited out West to make their portraits in the field and to gain them national publicity through Remington's articles and illustrations for Harper's Weekly. In turn, Remington got exclusive access to the soldiers and their stories, and boosted his reputation with the reading public as "The Soldier Artist". Bruce Wear notes: "'The Sergeant' depicts the facial characteristics of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Cuban Campaign of 1898" The artist became a war correspondent and was sent to provide illustrations for William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. He witnessed the assault on San Juan Hill by American forces, including those led by Roosevelt. His reports and illustrations upon his return focused not on heroic generals but on the troops. When the Rough Riders returned to the U.S., they presented their courageous leader Theodore Roosevelt with Remington’s bronze statuette, The Broncho Buster, which the artist proclaimed, “the greatest compliment I ever had…After this everything will be mere fuss.” Roosevelt responded, “There could have been no more appropriate gift from such a regiment”. LITERATURE Bruce Wear, The Bronze World of Frederic Remington, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1966. Harold McCracken, The Frederic Remington Book: A Pictorial History of the West, Garden City, New York, 1966. Paul A. Rossi and David C. Hunt, The Art of the Old West: From the Collection of the Gilchrease Institute, New York, 1971 Peter Hassrick, Frederic Remington: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Collections, New York, 1973 Patricia Janis Broder, Bronzes of the American West, New York, 1974. Michael Edward Shapiro, Cast and Recast: The Sculpture of Frederic Remington, Washington, D.C., 1981. Michael Edward Shapiro and Peter Hassrick, Frederic Remington: The Masterworks, New York, 1988. Michael D. Greenbaum, Icons of the West: Frederic Remington’s Sculpture, Ogdensburg, New York, 1996.

Photos in this brochure are for display only. Actual photos with casting infromation and sculptor signatures can be found online at www.newquistbronzes.com Each sculpture can be placed on a marble base, made especially for sculpture by the original owner. [ 11 ]

For more information on this collection, please contact: ARIZONA Harvey Newquist Email: newquist@cox.net

TEXAS Lee Newquist Email: lee@fwweekly.com

Phone: 817.243.2262 Visit us online at: http://issuu.com/living/docs/newquistbronze [ 12 ]