Sunday, August 3, 2008

Remington

Frederick Remington (1861-1909)


Water, 1892

During the Spanish-American war, Remington worked for the New York Journal under William Randolph Hearst as a war correspondent. In 1897, prior to the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine, he was sent to Cuba to cover the Spanish holding Cuban prisoners in “death camps.” Remington’s job was to draw pictures of Spanish atrocities and the battles taking place in the revolution. Once there, he was very unhappy and found more comfort in the Navy gunboats offshore to working in the fields, He wrote to his employer “There is no war. Request to be recalled.” To this, Hearst, in story that could never be verified, reputedly responded with “Please remain. You furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war.” Newspaper editors at this time, especially Hearst, would create stories about the war if there were none worth reporting. Each day, Hearst managed to fill the Journal with eight pages of information on the war. It was Remington’s job to create the illustrations of what went on with the war. It was because of this disillusionment that Remington began to sculpt in bronzes.

No comments: