FREDERIC REMINGTON, Bronco Buster

Bruce Wear, The Bronze World of Frederic Remington, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1966, pp. 94-95
Michael Edward Shapiro, Cast and Recast: The Sculpture of Frederic Remington, Washington, D.C., 1981, pp. 63-69, 91, illustrations of other examples figs. 45-54
Michael D. Greenbaum, Icons of the West: Frederic Remington's Sculpture, Ogdensburg, New York, 1996, pp. 51-64, 184, illustrations of other examples (as The Broncho Buster)

Shortly before Frederic Remington died in 1909, the sculptor made a large scale plaster model of his popular Bronco Buster, a 23 ½ inch sculpture which has been cast nearly three hundred times since its inception in 1895. In a letter to Riccardo Bertelli, owner and operator of the Roman Bronze Works, Remington stated “You ought to see the 1 ½ [scale] Bronco Buster. It will make your eyes hang out of your shirt-front. Get ready to retire the small one.” A few changes were made when the sculpture was enlarged. According to Michael D. Greenbaum, “in the large version the hand is outstretched, as if to balance the rider in the saddle, whereas in the earlier version the cowboy holds a quirt. The horse’s head also angles slightly in the larger version as if it were attempting to shake off the cowboy’s grip on the reins” (Icons of the West, Ogdensburg, 1996, p. 153).  Only nineteen casts of this large version were made. Other versions of this large cast can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming.