The Canadian Mounted Police on a "Musical Ride" - "Charge!"

New York-born Frederic Remington was a sculptor, painter and writer as well as an illustrator. He spent a year at Yale University then traveled west, where his experiences inspired his life's work. In the spring of 1887, Harper's Weekly sent him to visit the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Calgary and Alberta. The Canadian Mounted Police was one of several paintings resulting from that trip. The diagonal line of the horses and the placement of the white horse in the foreground add a feeling of swift movement to this scene. The image was reproduced in the magazine through wood engraving; because of that Remington executed the painting in black and white to help the engraver capture tonal values in the resulting print.