Image of the Day, December 14, 2011

By Donna Poulton

Not only is The Oregon Trail one of the classic page-turners in American western literature, the book was also beautifully illustrated in successive editions by such notable artists as Frederic Remington, N.C. Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton, and Maynard Dixon. Not shabby.  At age 23 and recently graduated from Harvard Law School, Francis Parkman travelled the Oregon Trail through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. During his 1846 trip, he kept a journal, which was initially serialized in Knickerbocker’s Magazine between 1847 and 1849.  Herman Melville favorably reviewed the book, citing its “true wild-game flavor.”

After numerous editions and millions of books sold, The Oregon Trail “computer game” has succeeded original book sales with a staggering 65 million copies sold. But I doubt that it can compare to the beauty of the illustrations in the hardcover book, or the pure pleasure of reading it under a warm blanket on the couch.

Today’s image of the day is by Frederic Remington whose numerous small sketches dot the pages Parkman’s book. In all there are nine tinted plates, sixty-seven black and white head-tail pieces, and numerous text illustrations.

Paintings Without Color: The Grisaille

By Donna Poulton

Known as ‘dead coloring’ by the old masters, grisaille paintings are characterized by the use of monochromatic (one color) paint.  Typically the paint used is a tone of black, but artists also use indigo blue, sepia or brown.  Starting in the sixteenth century the technique was used as ‘underpainting’ to help artists define light and dark areas of the painting before adding color.

Credit: Coeur D’Alene Art Auction

Thomas Moran (1837-1926),  Avalanche in Cottonwood Canyon, c. 1895, oil on board, 14 x 11 in.

Grisaille paintings are often offered for sale by western art auctions and galleries today. Oftentimes you’ll hear viewers wondering why the artist “didn’t finish the painting.” The simple answer is the works are finished. Newspapers and magazines in the latter part of the 19^th century and early 20^th needed black and white images for their publications—especially as they tried to fill the high demand of their readership for images of the West.

Credit: Coeur D’Alene Art Auction

Frederic Remington (1861-1909), He Made his Magazine Gun Blaze…, 1900, oil on canvas, 40 x 27 in.

In order to create the truest color, with the highest sense of drama, illustrators such as Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, Maynard Dixon, Frank Tenney Johnson, Herbert Buck Dunton, and William H.D. Koerner painted their illustrations for print using the tonal variations of black and white paint.

Credit: Christie’s New York, Rockerfeller Center

Frederic Remington (1861-1909), He Was the Law (Billy the Kid), c.1901, oil on canvas, 27 x 40 in.

Credit: Christie’s Los Angeles

Maynard Dixon (1875-1846), Go Get One, 1912, oil on board, 27 x 19 in.

Credit: Bonhams & Butterfields San Francisco

Maynard Dixon (1875-1846), The Car Was at His Hip-Almost, 1913, gouache on paper, 29 x 20 in.

Credit: Christie’s Los Angeles 10.29.08

Herbert Buck Dunton (1878-1936), Follerin’ the Tracks, 1907, oil on canvas, 30 x 18 in.

Painting of the Day, November 1, 2011

By Donna Poulton

“I knew the wild riders and the vacant land were about to vanish forever … and the more I considered the subject, the bigger the forever loomed…I began to record some facts around me, and the more I looked the more the panorama unfolded.” –Frederic Remington

Credit: americanpicturelinks

Frederic Remington (1861 – 1909), Friends or Foes, c. 1903, oil on canvas. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

In the painting Friends or Foes also known as The Scout, the lone Crow Indian rider cautiously looks at the distant camp not knowing who he might find. The painting depicts the wide-open spaces, but it also offered Remington another scenario for illustrating a horse—a fascination and repeating motif in nearly all of his work.