Object Details
Artist
Frederic Remington, born Canton, NY 1861-died Ridgefield, CT 1909
Founder
Roman Bronze Works
Exhibition Label
A version of this sculpture has appeared in the White House Oval Office throughout numerous presidential terms.
From Hollywood movies to cigarette advertisements, the American cowboy is a legendary figure and, almost always, a White man. Yet the original bronco busters were Mexican vaqueros of mixed European, Indigenous, and African descent, expert horsemen and cow wranglers like those Remington studied to compose this sculpture.
As Luis Jiménez, artist of SAAM’s outdoor sculpture Vaquero, reflects, “I was struck with the irony that our concept of the American cowboy was this John Wayne type image, this blond cowboy coming out of Hollywood, where in fact the original cowboy was Mexican.”
Label text from The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture November 8, 2024 -- September 14, 2025
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Jean and William M. (Oz) Osborne in memory of Donald S. Vogel and in honor of Cheryl and Kevin Vogel
Date
modeled 1895, cast 1909
Object number
2005.23.2
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Sculpture
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
23 1/4 x 20 1/4 x 11 1/2 in. (59.1 x 51.4 x 29.2 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Animal\horse
Figure male\full length
Occupation\sport\equestrian
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2005.23.2