Beschreibung:

Broncho Buster bronze cast in the lost wax method signed at base; Copyrighted/ Frederic Remington foundry mark; Roman Bronze Works N.Y. incised number 37. on underside ht. 23 in., wd. 21.5 in., dp. 13 in. Roman Bronze Works Foundry cast Broncho Buster on January 24, 1906. On that day, several others were cast as well: numbers 13, 30, and numbers 34-47. This specific information is located in the ledgers for the Roman Bronze Works Foundry, now housed at the Amon Carter Museum of Art in Fort Worth, Texas (a digitized copy of the ledger is included with the bronze). This fine example of Broncho Buster was produced when Remington still had a hand in making alterations as he saw fit. The bronze is an early lifetime cast of approximately 90 known to have been produced. Until recently the exact location of this sculpture was not known. In fact, Greenbaum's Icons of the West: Frederic Remington's Sculpture, published in 1996, corroborates this fact. Greenbaum lists 17 of the first 40 castings as unlocated; the remaining are housed in institutions or well known private collections. Given the quantity (16) produced on January 24th, we assume the group may have been produced for an order, perhaps for the retailer Tiffany & Company, who initially sold many of the casts produced by the Henry-Bonnard Foundry. Later Tiffany sold casts by the Roman Bronze Works. Although the ledgers in the Roman Bronze Works archive contain many client orders, the information is lost for this group. The Tiffany archives unfortunately do not contain purchasing information for the bronze. Broncho Buster was one of the most popular bronzes of the early 20th century, and Tiffany had much success with the piece, so it is logical to assume they may have been interested in more. WILLIAM COOPER PROCTER The first owner of this bronze, William Cooper Procter (1862-1934), probably purchased it in New York on one of his frequent business trips to the city. He was head of the Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati from 1907 to 1930, but was also involved in earlier years. Cooper Proctor was the first to advocate profit sharing programs and incorporated this model into the company. Little is known of Procter's collecting habits, but most surely he was a collector in some capacity and had wide ranging cultural and philanthropic interests. Unfortunately neither purchase records nor a collection inventory can be found. Cooper Procter and his wife were childless and doted fondly on their two nieces. One niece, Mary Johnston inherited his home, a large block of P&G stock, and presumably his personal collection. Mary Johnston was a voracious collector and Cooper Procter encouraged her to collect and study fine art. The bulk of her Collection makes up the core of the Cincinnati Art Museum's post-impressionist artwork. An excerpt from the publication on Johnston's Collection gives us an important clue about Cooper Procter’s approval of her artistic endeavors: "Mr. Procter suggested a more formal study of art, and hinted at collecting with the slightly improbable encouragement of an Indian painting by Farny." (Philip Adams The Mary Johnston Collection, Cincinnati, OH: 1972) Mary Johnston never married and lived in Procter's home after his death. A self-published book, covering a 30 year period, details their close relationship. In the book Procter discusses a variety of subjects. During the early and middle parts of the 20th century, she began to amass a substantial collection of Gris, Picasso, Van Gogh, and other masters, eventually donating the group to the Museum. She certainly didn't follow her uncle's advice of collecting "formal" art, and gravitated instead toward the abstract. Following Procter’s death Johnston inherited his collection, including the Farny, this Remington bronze, and a few other objects. These items were passed down in the family; Broncho Buster has remained in the family until today. AN EARLY CAST Rarely does a lifetime cast by Frederic Remington especia