A groundbreaking comparison of two titans of American art

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and Frederic Remington (1861-1909) represent a distinct artistic strain of the American mythos: both were celebrated in their day as homegrown, self-taught artists whose work offered a vision of American identity rooted in self-reliance, vigor, and a deep connection to the outdoors. This groundbreaking book is the first to consider the two artists together, revealing unexpected resonances between their artistic themes, careers, techniques, and lives. The publication highlights their formative years as war correspondents, their portrayals of adventure and masculinity, and their bold experimentation with different media.

These pages showcase seventy-eight illustrations, paintings, sculptures, and watercolors by Homer and Remington-a number of which rank among the great works of American art. Four essays address the surprising similarities and shared experiences between the two contemporaries, and a fifth essay on their techniques, the first of its kind, illuminates their creative practices. An extensive chronology traces the artists’ careers and lifetimes, and, finally, an introduction by critic Adam Gopnik situates them within the long, empirical tradition in American art, observing that seeing them together, we see the shape of our own self-making and, with it, the enduring wisdom of our own self-doubt.