The Outlier was painted by Frederic Remington in 1909. The artist was a friend of Theodore Roosevelt’s and the President said this of him: “He has portrayed a most characteristic and yet vanishing type of American life.”
Seen from the perspective of the 21st century this is so very true. The herds of buffalo on the plains, the Wild West, the open spaces, the Native Americans way of life, it has all changed and for the most part has now “vanished.”
Remington was very popular in the North East of America as people became fascinated with the romance of the Wild West and struggle for survival that played out there.
Here is what Tamsin Pickeral says of the painting in her book “The Horse. 30,00 Years of the Horse in Art.”
“The Outlier, the lone Native American on his white faced horse, is a poignant symbol of defiance and pride in the face of a shrinking world. The man and his horse stand calm and alone, staring out of the canvas at those looking in.”
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