RSA Scottish Art
The Scout
 | Artist: John Massey Rhind |
| Title: The Scout | |
| Year: 1919 | |
| Medium: bronze | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: John Massey Rhind was born in Edinburgh and first trained under his father, John Rhind, who was also a sculptor. For a period of time in his life, Rhind lived and worked in the USA.The theme of the Native American was popular with painters and sculptors in the United States at the end of the 19th century. The bronzes of Frederick Remington in particular looked back to ways of life that had already disappeared. In Rhind's sculpture, The Scout, the figure is dressed in full war regalia, kneeling as if following tracks. His pose is a complex one, with his body twisted in such a way to make the sculpture interesting from all angles. The sculpture was cast using the lost wax process, which involves a complex series of procedures. First a model would be made, using wax or sometimes clay. Then a mould would be made around the wax positive, before molten bronze was poured in. This is how the process got its name, as the wax would be “lost” when the hot metal melted the wax and filled up the mould. Undercuts, or areas where the bronze could not be removed from the mould, were avoided, so the spear in this example would have been cast separately and then added to the main figure.The form of the sculpture is noble and graceful. The elaborate head-dress and swivelling pose add interest and movement to the form. The overall shape of the piece is upright and energetic. He is dignified and proud; not in repose, or repressed. Native Americans have often been the subject of myths. Some of these myths were destructive and even racist, while other mythologies about native cultures emphasise the pride and integrity of these misunderstood people. Given the fact that Native Americans were virtually wiped out by white American settlers, why do you think that Native American culture became a popular element in modern American culture? Could it be guilt? Or could it be a reminder of a former enemy? | |
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