Step 1 - Introducing the Frederic Remington Slideshow Guide

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2 Step 1 - Introducing the Frederic Remington Slideshow Guide MOTIVATION BEGIN READING HERE What did you have for breakfast this morning? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) And I know you ll be hungry again by lunchtime. I want you to imagine eating this for breakfast every morning: greasy bacon, thick coffee, and one or two rock-hard biscuits. Does that sound delicious and filling? And this would have to hold you till dinnertime. You would not have any lunch. Would you like to live that way day after day? Click Start Lesson To Begin 1. CAVALRYMAN S BREAKFAST ON THE PLAINS It is morning, and the year is These cavalrymen are cooking the breakfast I just described to you before starting off on their day s work. These soldiers were stationed in the West, and were on a campaign to keep peace between the Native Americans and the white man. Have you ever watched a Western movie? Are Western movies based on a true time in American history? (YES) Since it was so long ago, how do we know for sure what it was like? (BOOKS, PHOTOS, ART) Today I want to tell you about a man who wasn t a soldier, a cowboy or a Native American, but he very much belonged to the West. He stood out because he was very different. Let s meet him and find out how he did fit in. His name was Frederic Remington. Instead of carrying a gun or a saddle, he had a sketchbook and pencil in his hands. He was very busy drawing everything in sight. What do you suppose he was doing in the West? (HE WAS AN ARTIST) Do you think being a Western artist during this time would have been an exciting life? Since he was a child, Frederic Remington was interested in the West, even though he lived in New York. He finally was able to visit the Western part of the United States when he was a teenager, and from that time on the West was his main interest in life. When he got there and saw that the land was rapidly being settled, he decided to use his art to record that vanishing way of life. He gave up so much to do this. He could have been a college graduate, a New York businessman, a boxer, or a football star. He gave it all up to travel and record the vanishing American West. His art will show us what life was really like during that time. To experience life in the cavalry, Remington went with the soldiers on horseback and camped with them. This way he could sketch them having their breakfast and know all about their daily life. 1 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

3 Look carefully at this painting, and tell me if you find the same things I do. I see bullets on the man s belt. I see a man smoking a pipe. I see a canteen to hold water. I see smoke rising from their campfire. Very good observations! All of those DETAILS that Remington was so careful to put in his pictures make them look real. Do you think this looks real, like we re standing there looking at these soldiers having breakfast? (YES) Remington was a REALISTIC painter. 2. HIS FIRST LESSON Is it natural for a horse to want a saddle and rider on his back? (NO) Here Remington is showing us a horse s First Lesson in having a saddle and rider on his back. Does he look like he is enjoying his lesson? (NO) Is the cowboy being very careful? (YES) Breaking a horse in without getting kicked is very tricky. Does the horse just stand there once the cowboy gets on his back? (NO) What happens? (BUCKS, LEAPS, RUNS) Yes, the horse does everything in his power to throw off the unwelcome cowboy. What little details did Remington paint into this picture titled His First Lesson? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) Is this is a realistic painting? (YES) Good for you! Remington loved horses and knew a lot about them. When he was a little boy his father trained horses as a hobby. When he went to farms and fairs, he took young Frederic along. Frederic learned to ride very young and always enjoyed horses. He also liked to draw pictures, and his favorite things to draw were horses, soldiers, and Native Americans. At the age of 15 he attended a military academy, and there he developed his drawing skills. At that time the Sioux Indian Wars were taking place, and there was much interest in the West all around the nation. After two years in the military school, Remington attended art school at Yale University. During his time there he won fame as a football player rather than as a student. He also spent his time boxing. He was so good that he was rated a near-professional heavyweight boxer. He left school, and with money inherited from his father, he traveled to the West. He had dreamed of the West for so long, and now he was going to experience it! He bought a sheep ranch in Kansas first, and later a saloon in Kansas City. He decorated the saloon s walls with pictures he painted himself. Both of these ventures were failures, though, and he began to wander around the West sketching everything in sight. 2 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

4 Upon returning to the East he took his many drawings of the West to Harper s Weekly, one of the most popular magazines of the time. Remington s sketches were published, and his career as an ILLUSTRATOR of the West was off to a good start. Let s see if this next painting by Remington would catch your attention in a magazine. 3. A DASH FOR THE TIMBER What do you think is happening here? (INDIANS & COWBOYS ARE FIGHTING) Who is in the most danger? (COWBOYS) Why? (OUTNUMBERED) Isn t this an exciting moment that Remington captured? (YES) He was a master at showing excitement and danger and inviting us in to feel that action. Let s look at all the realistic details he included. Are all the cowboys dressed the same? (NO) Remington painted the details of their clothing. Notice how each of the horses is different. What do you see packed in the saddles? (PANS, ROPES, BLANKETS) Can you locate the horse and cowboy who ve been hurt? (WHITE HORSE, MAN IN RED JACKET) Now let s look at the Native Americans. Can we see as many little details like we could on the cowboys? (NO) Why? (BECAUSE THEY ARE FURTHER AWAY, SO WE CAN T SEE DETAIL.) Name several ways to show things are in the distance. (BLURRY, SMALLER, HIGHER ON PAGE, NOT AS DETAILED, LESS COLOR) Now I want you to look behind the people and action at the LANDSCAPE that Remington painted. Here, too, he painted realistic details of what the Western landscape was really like. Can you describe it to me? (DESERT, FEW TREES, DRY, DUSTY, LOW FLAT MOUNTAINS) It would seem that Remington was right there sketching this dangerous chase. But he never really saw a fight in person. He would visit the Old West and listen to cowboys tell their exciting tales around the campfire at night. He later would turn their words into sketches. 4. REMINGTON S STUDIO Then Remington would go back to his home in New York and paint the scene. To help him, he would bring home all kinds of Western things and surround himself with these objects. Listen as a friend describes Remington s studio where he painted. 3 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

5 Click Audio Now Props hang on walls and litter the floor axes, clubs, saddles, bows and arrows, moccasins, head-dresses, lariats even a small Indian canoe. End Of Audio Continue Reading W When he became famous and could afford it, he had his studio built large enough for a horse and rider to pose inside it! Can you pick out how Remington used some of those props when he painted? Remington s talents did not end with paintings. What else did he do? Let s look at a different kind of masterpiece. 5. COMING THROUGH THE RYE What kind of art is this? (SCULPTURE) It has as many details as a painting. Remington is as famous for his sculptures as his paintings. There s so much excitement that it s fun to first let your eyes wander over the sculpture wherever they want to go. (PAUSE) Now let s study it more closely. Notice how each horse s head is held in a different position. Do they look like they are galloping very hard? Notice how the artist shows the powerful action of the horses legs. Above the horses, we see that the positions of the cowboy s heads are just like the horses heads. If the horse s head is up, the cowboy s head is up. Look at each one to compare. Does this make you feel how much the horse and the cowboy worked together as one? Why do you suppose the cowboys are in such a hurry? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) Cowboys on the cattle drives were known for being thirsty when they arrived at the end of the trail. That is what Remington is showing us here. A SCULPTOR came to town where Remington was staying to work on a statue of a general on a horse. Remington watched him work and became more and more interested. He had never tried to work this way before in three dimensions. The sculptor gave him some tools, and Remington worked all summer. Sculpting came very easily to him. This was Remington s tenth sculpture and probably his most famous. It was a difficult sculpture to do. Do you see that one horse is completely suspended in the air with all four feet off the ground? Think of the design and balance challenges he faced. Do you see the smoke from the firing guns? He cleverly used a thin wire for the smoke. Even in his sculpture, Remington made it look realistic with a lot of detail. If you could see this sculpture in person, you would see that each face is different, and the men s clothing is also detailed. 4 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

6 A process called BRONZE CASTING was used to make this sculpture. There are a lot of steps Remington went through to create this work of art. First he made the model out of clay. Then he took that clay model to a special foundry for making bronze statues. Here a mold was made of the clay model. Then hot liquid metal was poured into the mold. And there stood the bronze casting when it had cooled and was taken out of the mold. Many copies of the same work could be made this way. These sculptures are still sold today and are very popular and expensive. Are you beginning to get an idea of how it felt to be a part of the Old West? The next painting shows another side of the West. 6. RIDDEN DOWN Can you tell what is happening here? Do you think this shows a happy situation? Or do you think there is trouble brewing? Let me tell you the story shown here. It seemed impossible for the many tribes to live together without bloodshed. This Crow Indian braces himself for what is bound to happen. His horse has been Ridden Down and can go no further after trying to escape from his pursuers. Do you see his enemy in the BACKGROUND? (NATIVE AMERICANS ADVANCING) What will happen to the lone Crow brave? (HE WILL BE KILLED) Does Remington show us the ending to this tale he has painted? (NO) He rarely shows the final outcome. He leaves it for our imaginations to complete, just as a master storyteller would. Remington tried to study the life of the Native American just as he did the cowboy, but that was very difficult to do. He continued to live and work in the East, but he went west every summer for several months. He roamed the cowboys trails, and traveled among the Navaho, Apache, Cheyenne, and Comanche tribes. On these trips, the artist made many sketches and took along a camera for snapshots. Even then, his research wasn t always easy. It was difficult to get pictures of Native Americans. Patient, careful talk was needed to get a Native American to allow his picture to be taken with a camera. And it was almost impossible to convince him to let his picture be drawn. Sometimes Remington would stand behind several army officers. They would talk to a Native American while Remington quickly drew the Native American s picture. If the Native American guessed what was really going on, he would quickly go away. Remington was fascinated with the Native Americans practice of decorating their horses in colorful and unusual ways. He filled his sketchbook with many varieties. How did Remington paint the Native American in the background? (SMALLER, LESS DETAIL) Notice the landscape. In what kind of land were they traveling? (DRY DESERT, NO VEGETATION) As in the rest of his art, Remington showed exactly what the landscape was like. 5 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

7 The next Native American we see will be in a very different situation. 7. INDIAN TRAPPER What do you see in this picture that is very different from our last slide? (INDIAN DRESSED DIFFERENTLY, LANDSCAPE DIFFERENT) What feelings do you get from this Native American? Is he afraid, or a master in his mountain home? (MASTER) You are correct. Remington shows us an Indian Trapper dressed in European clothes who is very sure of himself. He knows the land and the way of the beaver by heart. The white man needs him and he knows it! Notice how his rifle points to and emphasizes the diagonal line of the trail up which the other horses have climbed. Let your eyes follow that path like the horses. What do you think Remington did with his painting after he finished it? (EXHIBITED AND SOLD IT IN NEW YORK) Frederic Remington chose a different time of day for this next painting. 8. THE OLD STAGECOACH OF THE PLAINS What time of day is it? (NIGHTTIME) Give me a few words to describe how it would feel if you were inside this stagecoach. (ROUGH, BUMPY, NOISY, DUSTY) Does it seem a bit mysterious? (YES) Why do you suppose Remington chose to show this at night? (HARDER RIDE, MORE DANGER OF ATTACK, MORE MYSTERIOUS) What draws your attention most in this painting? (LIGHT INSIDE, WHITE ON HORSE) Would the picture be as interesting without those patches of light? (NO) How did Native Americans communicate over long distances? Let s take a look. 9. SMOKE SIGNAL What would you title for this painting? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) Its real title is Smoke Signal. Tribes in the open prairie were capable of rapid communication over long distances with their smoke signals. This put travelers in that region to a great disadvantage! The Native Americans were experts at warning each other of the 6 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

8 movements on their lands. What kind of weather would interfere with this system? (WIND, RAIN) Let s see what other talents Native Americans had. 10. PONY TRACKS IN THE BUFFALO TRAILS Can you tell what these Native Americans are doing? (TRACKING) But who is with them? (SOLDIER) Let me tell you why. In the truest sense, it took an Indian to catch an Indian. Tracking a band of warriors or a single horse-thief was an art few white men understood. The U.S. Army paid the Native American to help them track, as Remington has shown us here. The title of this painting is Pony Tracks in the Buffalo Trails. Remington began to sell more paintings, and he had his ILLUSTRATIONS published in more and more magazines. Soon his pictures became so popular that editors were calling him. He was paid to do documentary pictures of Native Americans and also to write articles about them. Because there were very few cameras in the West in the late 1800s, the artists became the historians. After sketching in the West, he always returned to his New York studio. There he would work very hard, getting up early and going to bed very late. He turned out an amazing number of paintings and drawings based on his sketchbooks. In one year he sold 170 illustrations to popular magazines. This next Remington painting shows something that became a huge issue between the cowboys and the Western farmers. See if you can tell what it was. 11. THE FALL OF THE COWBOY What does Remington show in this painting that caused bitter fights in the Old West? (FENCES) The farmers wanted and needed fences; the cowboys needed the open range to herd their cattle. Eventually the fences became law, and the cowboy s job was over. Remington had a famous friend, President Theodore Roosevelt. Listen to Roosevelt s words about the end of the Old West. Click Audio Now The Indian is civilized, the cowboy is passing, the range cattle are tamed, and even the Indian pony is passing into history. One man s work, however, will preserve them for all time in pictures and in bronze. This man was Remington. End Of Audio Continue Reading Let s meet our master artist now. 7 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

9 12. SELF-PORTRAIT ON HORSE This is a self-portrait by Remington. Remember I told you he didn t dress like a cowboy? Well, for this pose he painted himself in Western clothes. Will his photo look like his selfportrait? 13. PHOTO OF REMINGTON Here is a photograph of Frederic Remington. He was a big, heavy man with red hair when he was young. His usual outfit consisted of a huge red coat, tight riding breeches, and hunting boots like the English would wear. Everyone liked him with his big smile, friendly manner, his love of the West, and for the stories he told. His paintings are stories that will live forever.while in New York, Remington suffered an attack of appendicitis in 1909 and died at the age of 48. But he had done what he had intended to do. In a very beautiful way, he had recorded the details of a time and place that would soon no longer exist. Click Next To Begin The Review Game Questions and Answers 1. Besides football, what were Remington s interests at college? ART & BOXING 2. What began Remington s love of horses? HIS FATHER TRAINED HORSES 3. What did Remington surround himself with in his studio? WESTERN PROPS 4. Which is NOT a guideline to painting something in a background? BRIGHTER 5. Why was the one Indian dressed so differently? HE IS A TRAPPER 6. How did Frederic usually dress in the West? LIKE AN EASTERNER 7. In Remington s sculpture, what is unusual about the horse s feet? THE FOUR FEET ARE SUSPENDED 8. In what city was he born and eventually sold his painting? NEW YORK 9. What did he use in his sculpture to show smoke from the guns? WIRE 10. If Remington never saw a cowboy/indian fight, how could he paint it? HE LISTENED TO COWBOYS STORIES Use the mouse to select the correct answer to each question. When complete, click Back To Units 8 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

10 Step 2 - Learning From: Frederic Remington Drawing landscapes Frederic Remington s paintings were realistic views of the Old West. In order to make the scenes look real, he painted things in the background much smaller and with less detail. Distant mountains Closer foothills The cactus in the foreground is larger and has more detail than those in the background. Draw several more of this type of cactus in the background. Make them smaller and with less detail. 9 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

11 Drawing landscapes Draw some foreground grass and rocks in the box above. Add distant grasses and rocks to this drawing. Add mountains and hills in the background. 10 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

12 Desert plants To make his pictures seem real, Remington painted only the kinds of plants that grew where he was painting. Much of the land he painted was desert and had plants like you see on this page. Choose a desert plant to draw. Make it large enough to fill the frame. Draw just the basic shape, you ll add the details later. Try to arrange the branches differently. Save this drawing for your art project. 11 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

13 The last few pages of this section contain the Art Activity for Frederic Remington. This step-by-step outline will be a guide for instructing your child(ren) through the activity. The parent/instructor should review all steps necessary to complete this project before beginning any work. Cut out the Artist Profile Slip below and attach it to the back of the completed art project. Frederic Remington (REM-ing-tun) - American ( ) Remington painted pictures of the American Old West. He was a realistic painter who recorded details of a vanishing way of life. His beautiful landscapes and action-packed scenes help us to relive the Old West. Art Activity Emphasis: Realism in Western Landscapes Frederic Remington (REM-ing-tun) - American ( ) Remington painted pictures of the American Old West. He was a realistic painter who recorded details of a vanishing way of life. His beautiful landscapes and action-packed scenes help us to relive the Old West. Art Activity Emphasis: Realism in Western Landscapes 12 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

14 Step 3 - Working With: Art Activity Instructions ARTIST Frederic Remington (REM-ing-tun) ( ) American ART ELEMENTS Realism MEDIA Chalk, crayon TECHNIQUE Torn and cut paper, chalk, crayon detail EMPHASIS Landscape composition VOCABULARY Landscape silhouette, horizon line VISUAL Print: The Old Stagecoach of the Plains SUGGESTED MUSIC Music from the late 1800s or western Music MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTOR AND CHILDREN One 9 X 12 sheet of black construction paper One 9 X 12 sheet of light brown construction paper Tissue or paper towel Artist profile slip Colored chalk Black pencil Glue Scissors Cactus drawn from last page of Learning From Packet PREPARATION Construct an example to become familiar with the procedure. Place the Remington print and your demonstration papers horizontally where they can be easily seen. Arrange materials nearby. SET-UP [ 5 minutes ] Distribute the following materials to each child: SUPPLIES: Black pencil, colored chalk PAPER: One 9 x 12 sheet of black paper, one 9 x 12 sheet of light brown paper, tissue, and artist profile slip ORIENTATION [ 5 minutes ] (The students should have their Learning Packets and a pencil ready.) What does our artist, Frederic Remington, liked to paint? (COWBOYS, NATIVE AMERICANS, HORSES) He also painted the kinds of plants that grew in the area he was painting. He made sketches of these 13 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

15 plants; at the same time, he sketched the people so that his paintings would be REALISTIC. Today you will create a Western LANDSCAPE of your own. Your Learning Packets will help you create your landscape, so put them to one side and let s get organized so that we can begin. DEMONSTRATION AND ACTIVITY ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AREA [ 2 minutes ] 1. Arrange your brown paper horizontally or vertically on your workspace. (DEMONSTRATE) 2. Put your black paper and Learning Packet to one side. 3. Place glue, scissors, chalk, black pencil, and artist profile slip at the top the your workspace. THE COLORED CHALK 1. If you have long sleeves, roll them up! 2. Press very gently on the chalk, so that you won t make a lot of dust! 3. Each time you finish with a color, put it in the chalk container, instead of leaving them out. 4. Use your tissue to wipe the dust off your fingers. COLOR THE DESERT BACKGROUND [ 5 to 10 minutes ] What are some colors you would see on a hot and dry desert? (BROWN, YELLOW, ORANGE, RED) Can you see them clearly if they are far away? (NO) Do you know that sometimes you can see layers of color along a desert mountain? Watch carefully while I show you how to put some desert color into your landscape background. 1. Use the side of the chalk. 2. Start on a side of the paper near the top. 3. Rub the chalk across the top, from one edge to the other (once across). Just a hint of color is enough for the background. 4. Use strokes that are horizontal or laying down flat. Make them wavy and overlapping. 5. Continue down the page with more flat strokes of many colors. 6. Leave lots of brown earth colored paper showing through. When you finish use your tissue to GENTLY rub off the excess chalk. Rub over the chalk in the same direction you colored to blend these colors, so they will become part of the background. (Have the students repeat these steps with their materials. Play the music.) THE BACKGROUND MOUNTAINS [ 5 minutes ] Put your materials down and watch while I show you how to make mountains for the background of your landscape. In your Learning Packets, there are some examples of background mountains. You may want to use them for ideas. Look at the line that separates 14 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

16 the mountains from the sky, the horizon line. You will cut a horizon line across the top of your brown paper. 1. Cut from one side to the other starting about two inches down from the top. 2. If you want to show flat-topped mountains, use only horizontal and vertical cuts (demonstrate as you explain). 3. Place the brown paper background against the black paper, lining up the bottom and side edges. 4. Turn your brown paper over and draw a dotted line of glue just inside the edges. Then place it on the black paper. DISTANT HILLS [ 5 minutes ] To give your landscape added depth, use your black pencil to lightly sketch some distant hills just below the horizon line: Can you see much detail in distant hills? (NO) Use simple lines, drawn very slowly. Make only a few small hills; the smaller you make them the more distant they will seem! THE FOREGROUND CACTUS [ 10 minutes ] On the last page of your Learning Packet, you drew a cactus, which just happens to be the right size for your landscape. Watch while I show you how to use it. 1. Use your colored chalk to give it a LIGHT coloring and blend it with your tissue. (Don t bother to stay within the lines.) 2. Cut it out. You may cut it in sections if there are many difficult cuts to make. Take your time and cut very carefully so that it will look realistic. 3. Glue it (just a few dots please) anywhere in the foreground of your landscape (at least half an inch up from the bottom). Have the students repeat these steps with their materials. This is a good time to play music. ADDING THE BLACK DETAIL LINES [ 5 minutes ] 15 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition

17 (When students have finished, stop the music and have the students put down their materials.) Watch so you will know how to add the details that will make the landscape more realistic: 1. With your black pencil, draw a few rocks or grass clumps. Objects in the foreground will be darker, larger, and have more detail than objects in the background. 2. Draw the thorns on your cactus. Usually there are dark spots on a cactus where the thorns grow. If you put a few dots on each cactus branch (demonstrate), you can then use the dot as a starting point for the thorns. Make the thorns with quick short strokes of the black pencil. Have some start on the white paper and end on the brown paper to make the cactus become part of the landscape. Be careful not to add too many details! You do not have to draw every thorn or every blade of grass. Use just a few lines to give the idea. Less is more! MOUNTING THE ARTIST PROFILE SLIP [ 2 minutes ] (Profile slips for each artist are provided. They give a brief description of the artist, the technique, and the media used in the art activity. They should be mounted on the back of each art project after it is completed.) 1. Write your name on the front of the artist profile slip. 2. Using glue, mount the profile slip on the back of your artwork. 3. Encourage students to discuss their artwork with others using this artist slip of information. CONCLUSION Can you imagine Frederic Remington painting his cowboys and Native Americans into your wonderful desert landscapes? Tell me what characters or action you would have Mr. Remington add to your realistic landscapes. (RESPONSES WILL VARY) You artists would work well with Remington! GUIDANCE Have extra white paper for those who wish to draw a different cactus. Encourage the students to make the chalk stain very light. A good time to play the suggested period music is during the art activity. The MTM CD-ROM has music which can be played for each artist. To play the music, click on the Audio icon which can be found on the first page of each Artist Unit below Ages 10 - Adult. THIS CONCLUDES THE FREDERIC REMINGTON UNIT. 16 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 10 Adult MeetTheMasters Online Edition