Frederic Remington (American, 1861-1909), Broncho Buster, design copyright 1895
Bronze, lost wax cast no. 241, by Roman Bronze Works (ca. 1918-1919), 22 x 21 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.
Collection Everson Museum of Art. Museum purchase with funds from the Central New York Community Foundation, John F. Marsellus Fund, in honor of the generations of the Marsellus family who have been involved with the arts in Syracuse and Central New York

By the time he decided to try his hand at sculpture, Frederic Remington was already famous with the magazine-reading public for his black-and-white illustrations that often accompanied action-packed stories of the American West in the leading publications of the day. The year was 1894 and it had been little over a decade since his first published drawings of the Apache wars had appeared in Harper's Weekly to great acclaim. During the ensuing years, Remington's name had become synonymous with the vivid depiction of Indian-fighting army soldiers, Indians, cowboys, and horses. Remington once remarked that his epitaph might read "He knew the horse." A unifying characteristic of all his western figures is that they are horsemen. So, it should be no surprise that his first foray in three dimensions would be an equestrian subject.

Remington chose to portray a resolute cowboy on a bucking stallion, selecting the moment just after the horse and rider's utmost exertion. The cowboy, quirt in hand, remains atop the lunging bronco by grabbing the mane and pressing his knees to the horse. Remington's debut in bronze is an accomplished expression of sheer physical energy, the first western action figure of its kind. It would go on to be the most successful single small statue produced in American during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Selling over 100 casts during the artist's lifetime a total of 340 authorized castings of the Broncho Buster were produced between 1895 and 1921, when production was stopped.

The Broncho Buster was first made by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company as a sand casting, a process that uses molds made of baked sand to hold the molten bronze. Around 1900, Remington began an association with the Roman Bronze Works, a foundry that employed the ancient lost-wax casting method. This process begins with a fresh wax positive for each casting and allows the artist to make alterations as he wishes to each edition of the sculpture.

Over time, Remington did make slight changes to both the horse and cowboy, usually to further the sense of movement in the composition. Always concerned that his reputation as a popular illustrator kept him from being regarded as a "fine artist," Remington was especially gratified when a casting of his Broncho Buster was presented in 1898 to Theodore Roosevelt by the Rough Riders who earlier that year had fought under Roosevelt in the Spanish American War. The Rough Riders were a celebrated group of volunteer cavalrymen, many of whom had spent time as cowboys. Like Roosevelt, Remington viewed the cowboy as the last vestige of Anglo-Saxon manhood: hardy, self-reliant, and plain speaking. Their endorsement of the Broncho Buster, according to Remington, was "the greatest compliment I ever had or can have. . . After this everything will be a mere fuss."