Frederick Remington’s The Outlaw No. 5 sculpture could fetch $800,000 at Heritage Auctions’ Western and California Art Signature Auction in Dallas, on November 14th. One of only 15 casts produced by Remington, The Outlaw No. 5 reflects the artist’s obsessive attention to detail and fervent passion for the American cowboy. This cast which depicts a horse being broken by a rider, appearing at auction is numbered “No. 5” beneath the base with foundry marks identifying the work as being made by Roman Bronze Works.
“The foundry’s ledger entry, which documented payment received, has overshadowed the history of this important casting of one of Remington’s rarest subject matters,” said Kirsty Buchanan, Associate Director of Western Art at Heritage. “We are indebted to Mr. Michael Greenbaum and Mr. Thomas Smith (of the Denver Art Museum) for their assistance in researching this historic work of Frederic Remington.”
Already an accomplished magazine illustrator, correspondent, and artist with oil and canvas, Frederic Remington (1861-1909) began to experiment with bronze sculpture in his early 30s. He was convinced his work would endure in bronze that “even rust does not touch”. In all, a total of separate twenty-two sculptures (with multiple copies of each) were produced by two foundries: The Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company and later the Roman Bronze Works.
Remington bronzes continued to be produced after the artist death until 1919. The will of Remington’s wife stipulated that all models used for casting “authorized” Remington bronzes were to be destroyed which was accomplished by the Roman Bronze Works foundry in the Spring of 1919. In the 1970s however, federal artist protection from duplication of his works expired, enabling the recasting and reproduction of Remington bronzes in the public domain.
