After 1900 Frederic Remington produced an evocative series of nocturnes that feature darkness as an essential narrative element. Rendered in a muted palette of blue, green, and brown, A Reconnaissance depicts three cavalry soldiers and their horses in a moonlit, snow-blanketed landscape. An officer and scout have ventured forth to a hillcrest to survey a distant tree line, alert to the possibility of confrontation. By turning the figures away from the viewer, Remington creates an aura of moody mystery and enhances the suspense of an uncertain outcome.

A Reconnaissance, Frederic Remington (American, Canton, New York 1861–1909 Ridgefield, Connecticut). Date: 1902

Medium: Oil on canvas. Reproduction in Giclée on archival paper.

The unframed prints are of exquisite quality, on matte museum-grade archival papers.

• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
• Paper weight: 5.57 oz/y² (189 g/m²)
• Giclée print
• Opacity: 94%

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection