Indian Gathering 1887

Curator: Immediately, I’m struck by the somber mood and limited tonal range of this charcoal and pencil drawing. The dark background pushes the central figures forward, yet there is an equal depth that suggests there is more to see. Editor: Indeed. What we're looking at is Frederic Remington’s “Indian Gathering,” executed in 1887. It exemplifies the artist’s exploration of narrative genre painting. Curator: Focusing on formal elements, Remington’s employment of stark chiaroscuro sculpts the figures out of darkness. The application of shading conveys both depth and the weight of emotion in the scene. Editor: Right. And it's worth remembering Remington was operating within a rapidly changing American landscape. He portrayed scenes of the American West in this particular piece to provide a sense of how gatherings looked, but these were also created for popular consumption. Note that there is this sense of ennobling a vanishing way of life while participating in a national narrative of expansion. Curator: Precisely! If we examine the organization of the human figures, the strategic placement directs the viewer's sight around a circle to specific individuals, yet the scene is far from perfectly symetrical. The subjects’ poses suggest weariness, resignation... defeat perhaps. Editor: It can be easy to read nostalgia into depictions like this, a yearning for a simpler past. Yet we also must consider these representations reinforced a certain perspective on American progress and the place of Indigenous peoples within that vision. The imagery may even function as a method of historical displacement in ways that naturalize conquest and erasure through representation. Curator: I would say there is more here at play: the very materiality of charcoal, as well as pencil, allows for this specific level of muted tonality, adding an ethereal quality to this very real-world image. Remington plays up that dichotomy. Editor: This examination has hopefully offered listeners new ways of engaging with artworks from Remington, a key figure in Western art. Curator: I'll now look at other work with newly sensitized eyes!