The Art Institute of Chicago
A Mexican Vaquero
Description
A trip to Mexico in 1889 provided Frederic Remington with a wealth of firsthand material for paintings and illustrations created later in his New York studio. Here Remington depicted a vaquero, a Mexican horseman similar to the cowboys of the American frontier. The figure sits astride his horse at an elevated position, his head and torso above the horizon, outlined by the pale blue sky behind him. Portraying the man with a direct gaze and his hand on the reins, Remington suggested that the vaquero was a fixture of the local terrain. The artist created a version of A Mexican Vaquero as a wood engraving, which appeared in Harper’s Monthly in 1891.
Provenance
George F. Harding, Jr. (1868–1939), Chicago, by 1939 [Harding Collection no. 400]; bequeathed to the George F. Harding Museum, Chicago, 1939 [the museum closed in 1964 and the collection was placed in storage in Chicago and New York]; transferred to the Art Institute of Chicago, July 30, 1982 [incoming receipt, RX13605, July 30, 1982; copy in curatorial object file]; accessioned by the Art Institute of Chicago, 1982.
Dimensions
82.6 × 58.4 cm (32 1/2 × 23 in.)
Movement / Period
Accession No
97907
Official Citations
Curatorial Affinity Stream
Continuing the Universe of Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909)
Impressionism & Realism • New York • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries
Continuous Discovery