The New York Herald, April 28, 1903
Today marks the 153rd birthday of Charles Schreyvogel, one of the many artists represented in the Sid Richardson Museum’s collection. Known for his action scenes of the West, only Schreyvogel rivaled Remington in the public’s eye as the pair strived to elevate the subject from illustration to fine art. Comparisons between the two artists were common.
Not one to share the spotlight, Remington sharply criticized Schreyvogel’s painting Custer’s Demand in the New York Herald in 1903. He takes the artist to task as Remington points out the historical inaccuracies in Schreyvogel’s recently unveiled painting (now housed in the Gilcrease Museum). “While I do not want to interfere with Mr. Schreyvogel’s hallucinations, I do object to his half baked stuff being considered seriously as history.”
Remington had for years been planning a painting of General Custer, and so was furious to discover that Schreyvogel had beaten him to the punch. No doubt learning that President Theodore Roosevelt was one of the painting’s most enthusiastic admirers added fuel to the fire. For his part, Schreyvogel never spoke unkindly about Remington and remained one of his greatest admirers.
I almost feel sorry for Schreyvogel here. I’m a little disappointed in Remington’s comments. They make him sound like a spoiled rich kid from New York, not a self confident renowned artist. PR wasn’t as controlling back in the day it seems.
Cool piece of history though! The newspaper article is great. As a journalism major I love to see how these stories were handled.
Yes, it’s interesting to see what people were willing to publish.