The Last of His Race 1908

Frederic Remington painted 'The Last of His Race' using oil on canvas. Here, paint is applied in loose, visible brushstrokes. Look at the way Remington's marks build up the textures of the land and sky. But the real subject is the clothing: the figure's elaborate fringed shirt and leggings. These are replete with handwork: the tanning of the hides, the cutting of the fringe, the application of colorful decoration. They speak of substantial labor, time invested in the production of cultural meaning. We could consider the painting a visual archive of these processes. Remington has, however, presented this man as 'the last', doomed to disappear. The painting participates in a wider cultural narrative that casts Native American craft as something vanishing, rather than as a vibrant, evolving practice. We must remember that paintings are also made objects, carriers of cultural intent that participate in the world around them.