Art Review: Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington

I saw Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth in January. I had a nice, long visit to the exhibition, which has splendid work by both artists. This compensated for seeing Mythmakers too quickly on the way to Mount Desert Island when I ran through the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, in early fall. It was at the Denver Art Museum last year.

An exhibition about Remington (1861–1909) and Homer (1936–1910) is bound to stumble, and this one does. Homer’s a giant, and Remington isn’t. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit. Definitive, gorgeous work by both is there. Sometimes rambunctious, sometimes sublime, the art is quintessentially American. In thinking about what’s American about American art, I’d certainly count at least one or two of the Homers in the show as foundational.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

I saw Mythmakers: The Art of Winslow Homer and Frederic Remington at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth in January. I had a nice, long visit to the exhibition, which has splendid work by both artists. This compensated for seeing Mythmakers too quickly on the way to Mount Desert Island when I ran through the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, in early fall. It was at the Denver Art Museum last year.

An exhibition about Remington (1861–1909) and Homer (1936–1910) is bound to stumble, and this one does. Homer’s a giant, and Remington isn’t. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit. Definitive, gorgeous work by both is there. Sometimes rambunctious, sometimes sublime, the art is quintessentially American. In thinking about what’s American about American art, I’d certainly count at least one or two of the Homers in the show as foundational.