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Fakultät Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften

Professur für Amerikanistik

  1.  Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
  2. Fakultäten
  3. Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften
  4. Institute
  5. Anglistik/Amerikanistik
  6. Professur für Amerikanistik
  7. Gastvorträge
  8. "Frederic Remington's Bronco Buster in the Oval Office"

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Brassat (Bamberg University): “Frederic Remington's Bronco Buster in the Oval Office”

Tuesday, May 05, 2026, 12:15 - 1:45 p.m., U5/00.24 (An der Universität 5)

The starting point of this lecture is the recent re-appearance of the “Bronco Buster”, the sculpture by Frederic Remington that was donated to the White House during Richard Nixon’s presidency, in the Oval Office. It stood in the Oval Office since Jimmy Carter’s presidency until Joe Biden removed it and replaced it with a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—a move that Donald Trump reversed at the start of his second term, ordering that the “Bronco Buster” be returned to its former place.

The lecture explores the history of the sculpture’s creation during the Gilded Age and the Spanish-American War, which Remington experienced as a journalist in Cuba; there, he witnessed, among other events, the legendary Rough Riders led by Colonel (and future president) Teddy Roosevelt. With reference to its reception history, the sculpture is often interpreted as an expression of aggressive nationalism and with its return to the White House, it has also become a symbol of Donald Trump’s politics. Join Professor Brassat's talk on how this seemingly timeless piece of Western art serves as a powerful, contested symbol of American identity and national ideology on the most visible stage in the world, the Oval Office. 

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Brassat has held the Chair of Art History, specializing in Modern and Contemporary Art History, at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg since 2006. His most recent book publications include the monograph “Das Bild als Gesprächsprogramm. Selbstreflexive Malerei und ihr kommunikativer Gebrauch in der Frühen Neuzeit” (2021) as well as the volumes he edited “Komplexität und Diversität des kulturellen Erbes. Forschungsbeiträge aus dem Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften, Denkmalwissenschaften und Kunstgeschichte” (2020) and “Die Stunde der Heimatmaler. Fritz Bayerlein, die ‚Gottbegnadeten‘ und die NS-Kulturpolitik” (2024).