Doreen and Laura's Excellent Adventure: New York - Ogdensburg on the Saint Lawrence Seaway

August 23, 2019 - August 25, 2019

Feeling a bit concerned about the pain in my abdomen, we abandoned our plans to go on to Montreal and Quebec City and headed south to the U.S. border, ending up in Ogdensburg, NY. Realizing it was Friday afternoon, we got settled in, then headed for the emergency room of the local hospital. It appeared to be virtually empty in the waiting room but that was because all the action was going on behind the scenes. They had a lot of ER rooms, some of the doubles, and they appeared to be all full when I was taken to one of them. After answering all the medical questions they took some blood and prep'd me for a CAT scan. I was supposed to drink some contrast material over a 2 hour period before they could do the scan. I was about an hour into it when they suddenly changed their minds and took me right to Xray. Diagnosis: Diverticulitis. They gave me two prescriptions and suggested I hang around for the weekend in case I had any further problems.

Frederick Remington happened to live in Ogdensburg when he was a young boy and the Remington Art Museum located there has the largest collection of Remington art in the country. Of course we had to see it!

He didn't look anything like I expected.
I guess because of his typical subject matter, I thought he's look gruff and weather worn.

Remington grew up in the Ogdensburg area, then went to prep school in Vermont followed
by college at Yale, giving him a plenty of time to experience the "north woods" he grew to love so much.

"The Apaches are Coming" - 1885 for Harpers Weekly
Remington first worked as an illustrator - mostly in black and white.

By his own admission, working in color took a lot of effort. Remington worked at it diligently for months and months.
It wasn't until he had a contract with Colliers in 1901 that he "finally had the financial freedom to invest the time and attention to capture light and nuance in his paintings".

"Charge of the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill"

"The Bronco Buster"
This is a picture of Remington's first bronze - an unbelievable success.
As it says on the cover "This bronze was presented by the Rough Riders to their Colonel (i.e. Theodore Roosevelt).
In this very magazine, Roosevelt is writing about his appreciation of Remington's art.

What I find interesting about these two men (Remington and Roosevelt) is how similar they were. Both loved the outdoors and the challenge of pitting themselves against nature. I thing they even look slightly similar.

This is only one step in making a bronze statue.
It's a complicated business and after seeing the process I now understand why bronze statues are so expensive.
If you ever have the chance to see a working foundry please don't pass up the opportunity.
You'll be amazed!