Artwork
This Was a Fatal Embarkation
This Was a Fatal Embarkation is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Frederic Remington. It dates from 1900 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Frederic Remington's 1898 oil painting, This Was a Fatal Embarkation, depicts a dramatic scene set on a river involving Native Americans.
Frederic Remington's 1898 oil painting, This Was a Fatal Embarkation, depicts a dramatic scene set on a river involving Native Americans. The composition features a kayak carrying figures armed with rifles, suggesting a moment of conflict or dangerous travel. The title itself implies a narrative of impending or realized tragedy, framing the journey as doomed from the start.
By focusing on these specific elements, the vessel, the indigenous travelers, and their weaponry, the work conveys a sense of peril and the harsh realities of frontier life.
Technique & Style
This Was a Fatal Embarkation is an oil painting on canvas by Frederic Remington, completed in 1898. The composition depicts a tense scene of two figures in a kayak navigating a river, one armed with a rifle, set against a rugged landscape. Remington’s handling emphasizes dynamic movement and narrative urgency, using bold brushwork to convey the precariousness of the embarkation.
The palette is earthy and restrained, with muted browns and ochres dominating, punctuated by the darker tones of the figures and weapon. The painting’s formal qualities foreground action and atmosphere, aligning with Remington’s characteristic approach to capturing frontier life and its associated drama.
History & Provenance
Frederic Remington created the oil painting This Was a Fatal Embarkation in 1898. Executed on canvas, the work depicts a scene featuring kayaks, Native Americans, a river, and a rifle. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This Was a Fatal Embarkation is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The institution serves as the current location for the 1898 oil painting by Frederic Remington. While the work is part of the museum's holdings, the provided records do not list a specific inventory or accession number, nor do they detail any past or current exhibitions in which the piece has been displayed.
Overview
Frederic Remington’s 1900 oil on canvas titled This Was a Fatal Embarkation presents a compact river scene in which five Indigenous figures occupy a narrow, elongated boat. The foreground figure stands upright, rifle in hand, while the others paddle in unison. The vessel’s hull bears a simple zigzag motif, and the composition is set against a muted shoreline under a flat, pale sky.
Context
The scene aligns with broader depictions of Native American life during a time of rapid change and displacement in the United States. By integrating elements such as a rifle and a traditional watercraft, Remington captures the intersection of indigenous practices with encroaching Euro‑American influences that characterized the late‑1800s and early‑1900s.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art.
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