Painted by Frederic Remington (1861–1909), the painter most identified with the mythology of the American West, 'The First Lesson' depicts a young cowhand's tense, jubilant first ride on horseback at a ranch at the edge of the prairie. The boy's uncertain posture, the father's firm grip on the bridle, and the long shadows of a late-afternoon sun together compose a small ritual of late-19th-century Western masculinity. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth holds one of the world's foremost collections of Remington paintings, drawings, and sculpture, of which this is a signature piece.

Exhibition Venue

Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Fort Worth, United States