Works of Art

The production of prints after Remington’s paintings during the artist’s lifetime was strictly a commercial venture by his publishers. Remington himself had very little influence over which paintings would be reproduced as prints. The selection instead was based on what people liked enough to purchase and hang in their homes. These reproductions cost between ten cents and two dollars; in contrast, the average price for a Remington painting at the time was two thousand dollars. In the production of the prints, the original dimensions of Remington’s paintings were frequently cut down, especially those produced by Collier’s magazine. In 1905, five prints issued by the magazine were reproductions of Remington’s night scenes. Done a few years earlier, this poster reproduction of the nocturnal masterpiece, The Old Stagecoach of the Plains, produced by Century magazine, shows the painting cut down with writing superimposed on it. The main purpose of the poster was to advertise the magazine itself, not provide a reproduction. Remington, for his part, seems to to have cared about this kind of commercialization of his art.