Massena N.Y. Town Museum - Part 1

I'd been told that the Massena Museum had moved to a beautiful new building so I went to have a look for myself. Indeed, they'd moved to a former bank building right in downtown Massena. I parked and went in to see what had changed:

And it was magnificent, very deluxe. This was certainly not like the old museum!

They had some bronze sculptures and paintings on loan from the Frederic Remington Museum in Ogdensburg and, to my surprise, I remembered all of them from when I toured that museum in 2015. This sculpture was entitled, "Bronco Buster," done in 1895:

I remembered this painting also. It was called "An Old Time Plains Fight," oil on canvas, 1904:

Another bronze sculpture by Frederic Remington, "Trooper Of The Plains," 1868:

"Charge Of The Rough Riders," oil on canvas, 1898:

If you would like to see more of Frederic Remington's art, here are links to my visit to the Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, NY in 2015:
Part 1,     Part 2,     Part 3

I then proceeded into the rooms devoted to Massena History which, I was told, were arranged in approximate historical order. I started with the oldest:

Massena was a pioneer town and had a long rural history as the artifacts indicated:

There were lots of tools from early life in mining, manufacturing, lumbering and farming:

I was particularly taken by these three hand made dolls, displayed in a bushel basket. At least they looked hand made to me, with intricate faces and elaborate costumes. There was no sign to give me an estimated date, but they were among the oldest items in the collection:

This was not a spinning wheel, though it may have been made from one. It was a Quiller, used to fill bobbins for a loom in the early 1800s:

I was stopped in my tracks by this tall, cast iron pillar and was surprised to learn that it was erected in 1842 as a treaty marker to commemorate the Ashburton Treaty, settling the dispute between the U.S. and Canada in the War of 1812. But there was a lot more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Frederic Remington Museum - Part 3

I was nearing the end of my tour of the Remington Museum (see previous two posts). This wonderful piece had the long title of "Recent Uprising Among The Bannock Indians - A Hunting Party Fording The Snake River Southwest Of The Three Tetons (Mountains)," wash on paper, 1895:

"The Bronco Buster," bronze, 1896:

"Buffalo Hunter Spitting A Bullet Into A Gun," watercolor on paper, 1892:

"Untitled," oil on canvas, 1908-1909:

"A Mining Town, Wyoming," oil on canvas, c. 1899, altered 1904:

I found myself once again in the elegant lobby of the museum, with its elaborate woodwork and one of Remington's own Tiffany lamps:

And then I continued upstairs to see the other displays, which gave me a feeling for the elaborate nature of the lifestyle in this former mansion:

There was a lot of glassware from the period:

A magnificent fireplace:

An upstairs parlor - or perhaps this was a once a bedroom:

This may have been a library:

All in all, it was clear that no one who lived in this house had ever been poor:

Downstairs again, there was a gift shop, featuring all sorts of Remington themed gifts. These ranged from postcards to full scale bronze reproductions of his sculptures, priced in the $1500 to $2000 range. There was also a room filled with reproductions of his paintings:

These paintings were for sale at about $75 each. But my tour of the Remington Museum had come to an end. I thanked the lady at the front desk and headed out to my car:

Frederic Remington Museum - Part 2

I was touring the Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, New York and in the hall of sculptures (see Part 1, yesterday). This bronze was "The Rattlesnake," 1905. Notice the snake by the horse's hoof:

"The Scalp," 1898. And yes, that's a bronze scalp in the warrior's right hand:

Then I began to look at Remington's paintings and there were many of them. I selected a few of my favorites. This was "Hauling In The Gill Net," oil on canvas, 1905-1906:

"The Howl Of The Weather," oil on canvas, 1906-1907:

"River Drivers In The Spring Break Up," oil on canvas, c. 1906:

"Evening In The Desert, Navajoes," oil on canvas, 1905-1906:

"Full Dress Engineer," oil on academy board, 1889:

"The Messenger," oil on board, 1887:

"The Charge Of The Rough Riders," oil on canvas, 1898:

"Antoine's Cabin," oil on canvas, 1890:

"Small Oaks," oil on canvas, 1887:

"The End Of The Day," oil on canvas, 1904:

Another bronze, "The Mountain Man," 1903:

'Coming Through The Rye," 1902. There were many more paintings and bronze sculptures. I'm including just a few of my favorites. There's one more post to come yet, and it will publish tomorrow. Tune in again:

Frederic Remington Museum - Part 1

I drove to the town of Ogdensburg, on the St. Lawrence River, to see the Remington Art Museum. It was located in an elegant mansion, built in 1810. Frederic Remington never lived here, but his wife moved here with her sister after Frederic's death:

The museum included and was attached to the adjacent mansion:

I entered the front doors and was awed by the opulence and particularly the idea of living like that in the frontier town of Ogdensburg in 1810:

I signed in, paid $9.00 admission and began my tour:

Frederic Remington was born in Canton, New York and grew up mostly in Ogdensburg - both in St. Lawrence County. That's a county map in the lower left:

St. Lawrence County was then a place of forest wilderness and home to mountain men of renown. It's still got a lot of forestland, though farmland now accounts for much of the county:

The first part of the exhibit displayed artifacts from Remington's life in St. Lawrence County:

And items he'd collected during his trips out west. This was a Blackfoot saddle, made of buckskin and beads. Frederic Remington never lived in the west. He traveled there for inspiration for his art:

I entered a large hall, filled with bronze sculptures and paintings:

Remington's bronze sculptures are what I was most familiar with and I was incredibly impressed, both by their intricate detail and by the action they managed to convey. This was "Trooper Of The Plains," done in 1868:

"Dragoons," done in 1850:

"Polo," done in 1904:

"The Cheyenne," 1901:

"The Stampede," 1910. This was a large and magnificent piece, my favorite of the museum's offerings. Sadly, my photo doesn't capture its true power. But there was a lot more to see at the Remington Museum and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: