|
SID RICHARDSON MUSEUM
Sid Richardson Museum - In A Different Light
Winslow Homer & Frederic Remington
This exhibition affords the rare opportunity to display works by Winslow Homer, considered
by many to be the greatest American artist of the late nineteenth century, alongside the
works of Frederic Remington, the premier painter of the West. Many similarities can be
found in their art and artistic careers. Homer and Remington both came from similar
backgrounds, both capturing the imagination of the American public through their creation
of popular images in publications such as Harper's Weekly and Scribner's Monthly. From
their work in illustration, both developed a set of character types that they returned to
again and again throughout their careers. Both were rugged outdoorsmen who drew upon their
experiences in nature as subjects in their art. Both documented war, with Homer the Civil
War, and Remington the American Indian Wars and later the Spanish American War in Cuba.
Even though they were born a generation apart, Remington and Homer were both at the height
of their careers in the 1880s and 90s.
The one area where the two artists differ is in their acceptance as fine artists. Homer
became a full Academician of the National Academy of Design in 1866, an honor sought by
Remington, although never fully achieved. Remington, at the height of his career, sought
to recast his art through a series of nocturne paintings for which he received much
critical acclaim. Each artist transformed their art in their late careers, distancing
themselves from their early work in illustration. Their subject matter became secondary
to the paint surface, and their storytelling obscured under shade of storm and night.
Reduced to their essential elements, the narratives in these paintings invite the viewer's
participation to imagine storyline and meaning.
This installation will feature a series of paintings and an illustration by Remington
together with an oil painting, Two Figures by the Sea, along with a group of works on
paper by Homer. The main focus will be on illustration, their use of character types, and
their ability to manipulate the setting of their works with dramatic, painterly effects.
This exhibition coincides with a larger exhibition of the works of Winslow Homer and
Frederic Remington that will be touring the country from March 2020 through January 2021.
It will begin at the Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, in March, and then travel to the
Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine, in July, and conclude here in Fort Worth at the
Amon Carter Museum of American Art beginning in October.
|
|
|
|
|
|
