The Mentor: Painters of Western Life, Vol 3, Num. 9, Serial No. 85, June 15, 1915 — Background and Themes

Remington's Dual Legacy

The monograph on Frederic Remington emphasizes his vigorous life as much as his art. Hoeber notes that Remington assisted Walter Camp in inventing American football at Yale, and that he was an "indefatigable worker" who filled sketchbooks with notes. The text traces his progress in technique, stating that "each succeeding picture disclosing genuine advance." Notably, Hoeber also mentions Remington's later success in sculpture, singling out "The Broncho Buster" as a public favorite. The biographical details—his father being a newspaperman, his brief time at Yale Art School—are presented as formative, but the focus remains on how his outdoor life fed his art. The excerpt avoids direct quotation of Remington's own words, relying instead on Hoeber's assessment of his character as "a delight to a host of friends."

Russell, the Authentic Cowboy

Charles M. Russell is introduced as "an artist very distinctive of the soil," one who had been a veritable cowboy and lived among Indians, speaking tribal languages and the sign language. Hoeber emphasizes that Russell never attended art school; artistically, "like Topsy, he just grew." The text highlights his practical skills—throwing the lariat, adeptness with a pistol, hunting buffalo—as credentials for painting the West. His illustrations for Stewart Edward White's Arizona Nights and Emerson Hough's Story of the Outlaw are cited as early successes. The excerpt notes that Russell's work attracted English weeklies, and that his transition to painting was natural. Hoeber frames Russell's success as surprising to the artist himself, who drew "because of his great love of the work."

The West as Lost Picturesqueness

Hoeber contrasts the earlier, more picturesque West with the modern, civilized version: "stern men in blue and khaki have seen to it that the Indian is kept on his reservation; business men with the wire fences now look after the interests of investors." This observation appears in the Russell section, but it echoes a theme that likely runs through the entire issue. The text suggests that the artists' value lies in preserving a memory of conditions that no longer exist. Russell's memory of earlier times is described as distinct, and his paintings are called "true transcripts." The excerpts do not reveal whether Hoeber extends this lament to Remington's work, but the pattern of pairing biography with cultural commentary is consistent.

Structure and Reading Strategy

The issue is organized as a series of monographs, each devoted to a single artist. The opening chess analogy may seem disconnected, but it primes the reader to view the artists as players who mastered the rules of their environment. The biographical details are not mere filler; they serve as evidence of each artist's qualification to depict the West. A first-time reader should pay attention to how Hoeber weaves together personal history, artistic technique, and cultural context. The excerpts suggest that the text does not provide deep analysis of individual paintings; instead, it offers a portrait of the artist as a product of the West. The closing sections of the original issue likely reinforce this approach, but the excerpts end before that point.

Readers approaching this Mentor issue for the first time will benefit from noting how Hoeber uses biography to authenticate artistic vision. The chess metaphor at the start is not a gimmick; it frames the entire discussion as a game of skill and observation. Pay attention to the recurring emphasis on firsthand experience—Remington's football and sketching, Russell's cowboy life—as the foundation of their art. The issue is as much about the character of the West as it is about the painters who captured it.

That rainy June afternoon, I stayed with Hoeber’s commentary on Remington’s wide, lonely plains until the light failed. His careful arrangement of biography and brushwork made the West feel patient, almost waiting. Later, half-dreaming, I reached for The Haciendas of Mexico: An Artist's Record — Key Ideas to Explore, and found the same unhurried quiet there—stone courtyards holding their own stories, neither book asking for more than a second glance.