Frederic Remington - Fired On - Google Art Project

''Fired On'' is a 1907 oil painting by

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United State ...

. It measures and has been held by the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

since 1910. Sometimes described as a

nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

, it depicts a group of men on horseback lit by moonlight in the murky pre-dawn. An unseen adversary has fired upon the man on a white horse. The painting was bought by

William T. Evans William T. Evans (1843 - November 25, 1918) was an American art collector. Life He was born in Ireland, and grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He studied architecture at the New York Free School. He was President of the Mills & Gibb, and Mill ...

in November 1909, and he donated it to the Smithsonian Gallery of Art, now the

. It was the first painting by Remington to be acquired by a US public gallery. The painting was displayed in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

during the presidency of

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. Later presidents preferred bronzes by Remington, such as ''

The Bronco Buster ''The Bronco Buster'' (also ''The Broncho Buster'' per convention at the time of sculpting) is a sculpture made of bronze copyrighted in 1895 by American artist Frederic Remington. It portrays a rugged cowboy character fighting to stay aboard ...

'' or '' The Rattlesnake''. Remington's paintings of the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

were later copied by

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

filmmakers, with

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

saying that his 1948 movie ''

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' is a 1949 American Technicolor Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. It is the second film in Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy", along with '' Fort Apache'' (1948) and ''Rio Grande'' (1950). With a budg ...

'': "I tried to copy the Remington style there. You can't copy him one hundred per cent, but you can get the colour and the movement."

References

''Fired On''
Smithsonian American Art Museum
''Fired On''
Google Arts & Culture
''Still in the Saddle: The Hollywood Western, 1969–1980''
Andrew Patrick Nelson, p.147
''Frederic Remington: A Catalogue Raisonné II''
edited by Peter H. Hassrick, p.146 {{Frederic Remington 1907 paintings Horses in art Art in the White House Paintings by Frederic Remington Paintings in the Smithsonian American Art Museum

See also

References