Lot of 3 F. Remington Chromolithographs & Lithograph

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Ancient / Ethnographic / Americana

By Artemis Gallery

Jul 11, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-07-11 10:00:00 2019-07-11 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient / Ethnographic / Americana https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic-americana-4246
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• Lot Description
  Frederic Remington (American, 1861-1909), "Hunting the Prong-horn Antelope in California" chromolithograph, Harper's Weekly, February 2, 1889; "Belle Mckeever and Lt. Edgar Wheelock" chromolithograph, Harper's Weekly, 1899; and "Watering the Texas Horses of the Third Cavalry in Lake Michigan" lithograph, Harper's Weekly, 1894. Frederic Remington's first assignment for Harper's was in 1886 when he was asked to travel to Arizona to report on the pursuit and capture of Apache chief Geronimo. Ever since, his portrayals of cowboys, Native Americans, and their horses have come to signify the Wild West across the globe. Size: Hunting the Pronghorn … page measures 16.125" L x 11.375" W (41 cm x 28.9 cm); 20.75" L x 15.375" W (52.7 cm x 39.1 cm) in mat
  
  While all three of these pieces are very important, the painting that inspired Remington's "Belle McKeever and Lt. Edgar Wheelock" which sold for $441,600 at Christies New York - 25 May 2006 (https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/frederic-remington-1861-1909-belle-mckeever-and-4715341-details.aspx) is particularly interesting.
  
  According to the Christie's lot essay for the oil on canvas of this subject, "The present work was a feature illustration for an 1899 article in Harper's entitled "The Military Search for Belle McKeever." The work depicts a confident, poised and attractive young woman, Belle McKeever, beside cavalry officer, Lt. Edgar W. Wheelock, when the two originally met in September 1869. Wheelock had been assigned to escort the prominent McKeever family from Texas as they emigrated to California to establish a ranch. "'A most interesting young lady of striking beauty, well-educated and high spirited,' Belle McKeever charmed Wheelock during the four or five days of his escort detail." So taken with the young woman, Wheelock requested a transfer to Fort Yuma to greet the family again, only to learn that the wagon train had been ambushed and massacred by a group of Apaches. Only Belle McKeever and a family servant were rumored to have survived.
  
  Wheelock immediately set out with a search party but within a few short days of harsh desert conditions the volunteer group disbanded. "Wheelock and one other man, Schwinke, were nearly dead from exposure and the lack of food and water. A third man, Swanson, was missing. Crazed from the excruciating desert experience, Schwinke declared that he and Wheelock has murdered Swanson...Actually, Swanson had deserted, taking the mule, food and large water canteens. He left one night because Wheelock refused to be diverted from his search for the stolen girl by Swanson's discovery of gold in a dry stream bed. Depressed at his mission's failure, exhausted from exposure, horrified by the ghastly accusation, and unable to remember clearly why Swanson had left, Wheelock was sympathetically allowed to resign his commission. Then he disappeared from Fort Yuma, still in search of Belle McKeever. At this unresolved point, the story ends in official army records.
  
  According to un-published accounts, Wheelock would spend the next several years suffering in anguish, unable to locate the young woman whom he had taken responsibility for so many years before. Living among the Hualapia tribe in northern Arizona, Wheelock would eventually happen upon Belle McKeever, who had been purchased as a curiosity by another tribe. The two eventually married and returned to California to settle in Inyo County."
  
  Provenance: private Lucille Lucas collection, Crested Butte, Colorado, USA
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
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  #134177

  Condition

  "Watering the Texas Horses…" shows normal toning, a small loss to upper right margin, and is taped to cardstock at upper end, so one can read the verso. "Belle Mckeever and Lt. Edgar Wheelock" is attached to a mat - notes and slight stains to the mat but image is still strong. "Hunting the Prong-Horn…" is in a museum-quality mat with a protective dust cover. Slight losses/tears/stains to edges of sheet that are only visible when upper layer of mat is lifted. Chromolithograph is attached to a cardstock backing.
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