Norman Rockwell Exhibit Shows War's Effects On Remington

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — "Frederic Remington and the American Civil War: A Ghost Story," a new exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum, explores the artist’s ongoing fascination with the Civil War. Although Remington rarely painted Civil War scenes, his legendary depictions of the American West echo the themes and images of the war that both inspired and haunted him.

In addition to the exhibition that runs through Oct. 29, the museum is hosting related programs. A lecture and performance series on Thursday evenings in July and August will include “American Civil War Photography: A Stereoscopic Experience” featuring Civil War historian and author Bob Zeller at 5:30 p.m. on July 27.

Frederic Remington (1861-1909), a noted illustrator, painter, sculptor and author, produced more than 3,000 drawings and paintings, 22 bronze sculptures, a novel, a Broadway play and over 100 articles and stories.

The son of a Civil War veteran, he started making Western art in the mid-1880s, just when two dominant attitudes emerged nationally about the Civil War: Reconciliation and the Lost Cause.

“It was a time when Southerners were viewed increasingly — even in the North — as glorious heroes fighting against all odds for their homes and honor,” said exhibition curator Alexander Nemerov, Ph.D.

Remington’s romanticized vision of the heroic nature of American settlers defined a nation’s character as one of independence, individualism and stoic heroism.

Curator of Illustration Art Stephanie Plunkett said the exhibit “brings together a rich tapestry of visual materials and cultural artifacts that invite a new understanding of Remington’s West.”

Original Remington paintings, drawings and sculptures from public and private collections, archival Civil War photography, and select books and periodicals are included in the exhibition. "The Cavalryman’s Breakfast on the Plains" (c. 1892, Amon Carter Museum) and "A New Year on the Cimarron" (1903, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston) are among the master works featured.

Remington was born in 1861 in Canton, N.Y. When he was two months old, his father, newspaper publisher and editor Seth Remington, raised a company in the 11th New York Cavalry. He returned home four years later with a distinguished military record to resume his work and to get to know his young son.

Remington died of appendicitis in 1909 at the age of 48. Theodore Roosevelt eulogized him saying, “The soldier, the cowboy and rancher, the Indian, the horse and the cattle of the plains will live in his pictures, I verily believe, for all time.”

"Frederic Remington and Norman Rockwell created influential visual cultural legacies that defined the nation for eager mass media audiences. Remington invented our 19th century cultural understanding of the American West and Rockwell created our cultural understanding of the 20th century. Each remains a heroic figure of their time," said Museum Director Laurie Norton Moffatt.

A 60-page illustrated catalog, written by Dr. Nemerov to accompany the exhibition, is available at the Museum Store and online.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October. For more information, call (413) 298-4100, ext. 220or visit www.nrm.org.