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"The Savage"
recast bronze, 1908, stamped in several places with copyright, signature etc.,
,
- Condition:In very fine condition, no nicks, scratches or discoloration.
- Size: 13 by 6 by 6 in. (34 x 15 x 15 cm.)
- Note: (From Aaron Carter Museum notes).In 1888, when Remington visited a camp of Cheyenne Indians near Fort Sill in the Indian Territory, he met an elderly chief who seemed to the artist to know “more about Indians, Indian policy, and the tendencies and impulses of white men concerning his race than any other person I had ever met.” Remington noted that Cheyenne men “wore the hair caught by braids very low on the shoulders, making a black mass about the ears, which at a distance is not unlike the aspect of an Apache.” As early as 1889, Remington wrote of the Indian as somewhat unknowable: “With all due deference to much scientific investigation which has been lavished upon them, I believe that no white man can ever penetrate the mystery of their mind or explain the reason of their acts.” For Remington, the Indian was “a mass of glaring incongruities,” difficult if not impossible to understand. “He loves and hates in such strange fashions, and is constant and inconstant at such unusual times, that I often think he has no mental process, but is the creature of impulse.” Remington’s attitude may explain the rather harsh aspect of the face of The Savage, modeled and copyrighted in 1908. Remington purposely modeled the Indian’s head to appear masklike and forbidding. The eyes are deeply undercut, the cheekbones sharply exaggerated, and the mouth pulled downward into a menacing sneer. The hair forms a cowl over the head, and all the features are distinguished by contrasting light and shadow, to very dramatic effect. Although the portrait depicts a broad type rather than a specific individual, the face of this prototypical Indian meant much more to Remington than mere caricature. The artist may have modeled this small bust at the behest of his friend Riccardo Bertelli, head of the Roman Bronze Works foundry, who advised him that smaller and less expensive bronzes would perhaps find a wider market. On November 24, 1908, Remington noted in his diary that he had begun modeling “the head of an Indian, about 8 inches high” that would become The Savage. The initial agreement with Roman Bronze Works was to produce twenty casts that would retail for $50 apiece. However the foundry’s ledgers, which are in the Amon Carter Museum archives, seem to indicate that no casts of The Savage were sold until after Remington’s untimely death in December 1909.
| Estimates* |
US $ |
Euro |
UK pound |
Swiss Fr |
200-400 |
182-364 |
164-328 |
202-404 |
| *
Estimates do not include 25% buyer's premium (see Terms and Conditions). NR means no reserve (minimum bid $50 unless otherwise posted). Estimates in other currencies based on conversion rates of Euro: 0.91 , British Pound 0.82, Swiss Fr 1.01. All conversion values are approximate with
the final cost determined in dollars.
workcode: fr-1873h-12
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