The Rattlesnake

Frederic Remington

1905

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Ten Elephants, George Biddle, Printed by Roberto Bulla, lithograph
Four men of varying heights wearing dark suits, white shirts, dark ties, and fezes embellished with the insignia of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine—commonly known as the Shriners—stand side by side, singing in four-part harmony as the title implies. Their shadows are cast against a backdrop depicting three pyramids and two camels, which speaks to the fraternal order’s taste for Middle Eastern trappings. Grant Wood reportedly sang in a Shrine quartet himself.
At the center of the work is an irregular circle outlined in black. The circle is divided into a light blue upper portion and a light pink lower portion. The circle is partially intersected by a stroke of brown paint emerging from the right. Above the circle are two slanted lines that meet at the bottom of an irregular black rectangle, part of which is covered in brown with two dashes of light blue below it. Two thin vertical black lines emerge from the bottom towards the circle. The background of the work is painted white.
Windmill in Village, Lucille Douglass, pastel on paper