Frederic Remington

Bio

(1861-1909) Artist, illustrator, sculptor, writer. “Pony Tracks.” Remington was born in Canton, NY. He spent his adolescence drawing sketches of horses, soldiers, cowboys, Indians and other boyhood fantasies. After a failed courtship with Eva Caten, a young woman he was too impoverished to marry, Remington went West to seek his fortune. He found employment as a cowboy, rancher, and saloon keeper, but the most lucrative product of these western experiences was the artwork he created when he returned to New York. Harpers Weekly took an interest in his rendering of the Wild West, and Remington eventually earned enough money to be acceptable husband material for Eva. In 1890, Remington illustrated Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha.” There is a Frederic Remington memorial museum at 303 Washington Street.