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End of the Trail

End of the Trail is a sculpture by James Earle Fraser, first created in 1894 and later reproduced in plaster and bronze. It shows a weary Native American man carrying a spear and wrapped in the remains of a blanket, hanging limp over an exhausted horse with swollen eyes. Fraser used the work to comment on the damage caused by Euro-American settlement to Native Americans. The sculpture became widely known after being shown at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition. Fraser intended it as a critique of the United States government, though it has also been criticized for portraying Native Americans as a dying race. The 1915 version is now in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum.

End of the Trail bronze sculpture showing a slumped rider on a lowered horse atop a stone base.
End of the Trail bronze sculpture in a park setting, with the rider and horse appearing weary.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
End of the Trail bronze statue of a bowed rider on a horse atop a stone pedestal.
The End of the Trail statue shows a weary rider and horse with their heads lowered on a stone pedestal.
© · Public domain
End of the Trail bronze sculpture of a bowed rider on a weary horse against a blue sky.
End of the Trail shows a bowed rider slumped on a weary horse beneath a clear blue sky.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
End of the Trail bronze statue of a slumped rider on horseback holding a spear, with bowed heads against a blue sky.
End of the Trail depicts a weary rider on horseback, shown here against a clear sky and trees.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
End of the Trail bronze sculpture of a weary rider slumped over a bowed horse against a blue sky.
End of the Trail, a bronze sculpture showing a weary rider slumped over a bowed horse.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleEnd of the Trail

Creator

Artist's cultural connectionFraser felt a connection to Native American culture, which influenced the sculpture
Related work detailThe Buffalo-Indian Head nickel appeared on the five-cent coin from 1913 to 1938
Related worksThe Buffalo-Indian Head nickel and The Buffalo Prayer
ArtistJames Earle Fraser
First model exhibited atA competition sponsored by the American Art Association
Artist's age at first model17 years old
Source of horse figureAdapted from a horse in another work, In the Wind
Possible model for main figureSeneca Chief John Big Tree
Personal memory behind the conceptHe recalled an old Dakota trapper saying, 'The Indians will someday be pushed into the Pacific Ocean.'
InspirationFraser drew inspiration from childhood memories of frontier life and Native American experience in the Dakota Territory, and from a piece of art he saw at the 1893 Columbian Exposition
First model awardFirst place

Historical context

RecognitionThe 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition brought the work national popularity and wide fame
1915 exposition versionA plaster monument displayed at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, where it stood on an eight-foot pedestal at the entrance and won a gold medal
Study and assistantshipIn 1897 Fraser went to Paris to continue his studies and later became an assistant to Augustus Saint-Gaudens after winning the John Wanamaker Prize in 1898 at the American Artists Association exhibition in Paris
Style developmentAugustus Saint-Gaudens strongly influenced Fraser's stylistic development
Artist's stated intention for related workWhen asked to create something uniquely American, Fraser said the buffalo and the American Indian were integral parts of American culture and history
Date created1894
Original model sizeSeventeen-year-old Fraser created the first model

Materials

MaterialsPlaster and bronze
Large model materialPlaster
Bronze versionA bronze version was planned but not cast at the time because of wartime metal shortages

Physical characteristics

ScaleTwo-and-a-half times life size
HeightNot specified in the source fragment

Appearance

Depicted clothingOnly the remains of a blanket
Depicted horseA weary horse with swollen eyes
Depicted figureA weary Native American man
Depicted postureHanging limp
Depicted object carriedA spear
Horse actionStopping to observe the ground ahead
Wind direction impliedThey have their backs to the wind, suggested by the horse's blowing tail
Modifications for the monumental versionThe shield was replaced with a medicine bag, some buffalo-hide robe was removed to expose the figure's musculature, and the strong wind from behind was included

Iconography and meaning

Main figure interpretationEmbodies the suffering and exhaustion of people driven from their native lands
ThemeCommentary on the damage Euro-American settlement inflicted upon Native Americans
Interpretive readingsSeen variously as a statement that Native Americans were destined to die out, or as an indictment of settler and government actions that destroyed autonomous Indigenous nations
Historical themeThe displacement of Native Americans westward or their confinement to Indian reservations
Conceptual ideaAn Indian representing his race reaching the end of the trail at the edge of the Pacific
Artist's intended meaningA critique of the United States government
Artist's own descriptionA 'weaker race' being 'pushed to the wall by a stronger (race)'
Symbolic meaning of the modificationsThey represent the spirituality of Native American people and the strength of the figure
Interpretation in exposition catalogA reminiscence of early American history and its traditions of courage and endurance, and the pathos of the Indian's decline
Critical receptionCriticized for depicting Native Americans as a dying race

Discovery and provenance

Rescue and deteriorationThe plaster version deteriorated significantly outdoors and was in poor condition with large surface cracks
Visalia transferAfter the exposition, the plaster monument was thrown into a mud pit in Marina Park, rescued by the Tulare County Forestry Board in 1919 from Mooney Grove Park, Visalia, and later replaced there by a bronze casting in 1971
Other versionsA 1929 version is at Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Museum copiesThe Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota hold copies
Waupun quoteFraser said it was fitting that in Wisconsin, where the Indian made one of his last stands, he could offer this slight tribute to his memory
Bronze dedication purposeA tribute to Native Americans
Bronze unveiling23 June 1929 in Waupun, Wisconsin
Large bronze commissionCommissioned by Clarence A. Shaler, a wealthy art patron, in 1926 and reduced to life size as a compromise
Small bronze replicasFraser sold small-scale bronze replicas in two sizes within a few years after the exposition
Paris tripIn 1897 Fraser took a small bronze version to Paris while continuing his studies
Original bronze versionA small bronze version was created in 1894
Commission purposeTo donate the sculpture to the city of Waupun, Wisconsin

History and restoration

Restoration and acquisitionIn 1968 the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum acquired the plaster version and restored it for display
Restoration workLeonard McMurry removed six layers of paint, closed fissures in the horse's body, refined the surface for molding, and used enlarged photographs to restore the original appearance
Most difficult features to recreateThe chin and upper chest of the Native American figure
Restoration completed1971

Location and ownership

Cemetery version locationRiverside Cemetery, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Current display locationThe entrance of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Smaller bronze copy locationWinona State University library, Winona, Minnesota
Current Visalia locationMooney Grove Park, Visalia, California

Significance

National Register listingThe Waupun bronze statue was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980
Cultural impactReproductions, prints, miniatures, postcards, traveling-show and rodeo imitations, and a painting on the original cover of the Beach Boys' Surf's Up made it a recognizable symbol across America
Later cultural referenceA painting inspired by the sculpture appeared on the original cover of the Beach Boys album Surf's Up in 1971
Museum importanceThe National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum considered it imperative to feature End of the Trail as Fraser's most renowned work
Fraser Memorial Studio planAfter Fraser's death in 1953, plans were made for a Fraser Memorial Studio in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City

Other

Artist name variantJames Fraser