FREDERIC REMINGTON | The Passion of Ah-we-ah

Wildenstein & Co., New York, by 1974
James Graham & Sons, New York
Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, New Jersey (acquired from the above)
By descent to the present owner, circa 1988

Cody, Wyoming, Whitney Gallery of Art, The Art of Frederic Remington: An Exhibition Honoring Harold McCracken at the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, 1974, p. 20, illustrated

Frederic Remington, "The Story of the Dry Leaves," Harper's Monthly, vol. XCIX, no. 589, June 1899, illustrated p. 99
Peggy Samuels and Harold Samuels, The Collected Writings of Frederic Remington, Garden City, New York, 1979, illustrated p. 369 (engraving illustrated)
Peter Hassrick and Melissa Webster, Frederic Remington: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, vol. II, Cody, Wyoming, 1996, no. 2432, p. 686, illustrated

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes, Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is generally in very good condition. The canvas is unlined and on its original stretcher. There is a small patch on the reverse, corresponding to a small restored loss in the shadow in the lower left. The work is clean. The paint layer is un-abraded and feels very fresh. There is a vertical line of retouching running upwards from the last letter of the signature, which may attend to a scrape in the paint layer that may be original. There is a vertical line running through the head of the moose which may also attend to a slight scape in the paint layer, but this is not a break in the canvas. There are a few dots of retouching in the snow beneath the animals and a few other tiny retouches, probably addressing small discolorations.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work is one of three images Frederic Remington created to illustrate "The Story of the Dry Leaves," which was published in the June 1899 edition of Harper's Monthly. Remington wrote the story himself while recovering from malaria contracted in Cuba, where he had served as a war correspondent for the New York Journal during the Spanish-American War in the late 1890s.