The Outlier 1909

Frederic Remington painted ‘The Outlier’ during a time of profound cultural change in America. This artwork reflects the complex historical context of the American West, specifically regarding the relationships between settlers and Indigenous peoples. Here, we see a lone Indigenous figure, armed and on horseback, set against a landscape bathed in moonlight. Remington, like many artists of his time, was captivated by the romanticism of the "Wild West". Yet, his work also reveals the anxieties surrounding the displacement and marginalization of Native Americans. Consider how Remington portrays the figure; there's a certain nobility, but also a sense of isolation. Is he a warrior, a hunter, or simply a man on his land? Perhaps Remington’s depiction reflects a society grappling with its own identity, caught between celebrating expansion and confronting the consequences of its actions. ‘The Outlier’ prompts us to reflect on the stories we tell about our past, and whose voices are included, or excluded, from those narratives.