The Advance-Guard, or The Military Sacrifice (The Ambush)

1890

Frederic Remington, famous for his dynamic compositions of frontier life, presented mythic, romanticized views of the American West. Here, a cavalry scout, shot by an unseen Souix warrior, slumps over his horse while the troops behind him flee the ambush. Like most of his work, it was created for a white audience who understood the West as a place of both danger and opportunity.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909)

Date

1890

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

87.3 × 123.1 cm (34 3/8 × 48 1/2 in.)

Origin

New York

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

George F. Harding Collection