The American Spirit: Paintings by Mort Künstler

Editor's note: The Nassau County Museum of Art provided source material to Resource Library for the following article or essay. If you have questions or comments regarding the source material, please contact the Nassau County Museum of Art directly through either this phone number or web address:

516-484-9338
http://www.nassaumuseum.com/

The American Spirit: Paintings by Mort Künstler

August 27, 2006 - November 5, 2006

In The American Spirit: Paintings by Mort Künstler, at Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) from August 27 through November 5, 2006, the theme of American history is arranged chronologically, spanning the early days of the nation from the Revolution to the Space Age. This reflects the major project that has engaged artist Mort Künstler throughout his career. Regarded widely as the leading history painter of today, Künstler, who works in a heightened realist vein, is renowned for his paintings' fidelity to their subjects and their capacity to vividly convey the narrative that has animated our nation's growth. The American Spirit is an original exhibition organized for NCMA by the museum's chief curator, Franklin Hill Perrell.

Künstler's work is esteemed for its drama and artistry and for the extraordinary level of authenticity that results from the artist's intense research. He is regarded as the world's foremost Civil War artist: Dr. James I Robertson, Jr., the dean of Civil War historians and author of Stonewall Jackson, said "To study his paintings is to simply see history alive....none captures the human element, the aura of leadership, the sense of being there and sharing in the drama quite like Mort Künstler." Attesting to the artist's popularity with the public, NCMA's 1998 exhibition, The Civil War: The Paintings of Mort Künstler, broke all of the museum's previous attendance records and still stands as one of the museum's top-drawing shows ever.

The artist is widely acknowledged for his links to the Golden Age of Illustration, to artists such as Rockwell and Leyendecker, but as this exhibition will demonstrate, Künstler's work is also positioned within the larger context of American art. His techniques and style stands upon the foundation of a long-honored American tradition of realism, the premise of descriptive literalism.

Künstler studied art at Brooklyn College, UCLA and the Pratt Institute. He became a highly successful illustrator, receiving coveted assignments from books and magazine covers such as Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, Mad Magazine and Boy's Life. It was his work for National Geographic, where he was creating highly accurate representations of historical subjects that pointed the way to his convincing depictions of scenes in American history. An assignment from CBS-TV to do the paintings for the miniseries, The Blue and The Gray, began Künstler's close association with the Civil War. The High Water Mark, his painting for that series, is considered the most accurate and exciting rendering ever of the battle at Gettysburg. It was unveiled at Gettysburg National Military Park Museum in 1988 in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the battle.

Mort Künstler will participate in several events at NCMA during the course of this exhibition: On August 27 and September 10 he will be present for Meet the Artist events during which he will sign calendars, prints, posters, books and the museum catalogue. On September 6, Künstler will present a lecture, The American Spirit: My Career as a Painter of American History, and on October 15 he will unveil a new Revolutionary War print, The World Turned Upside Down, which portrays the British surrender at Yorktown. Two exciting military reenactments will be held on the museum grounds: the Revolutionary War on September 16 and the Civil War on November 5.

On October 7, NCMA's chief curator, Franklin Hill Perrell, presents a lecture titled Rebellious Realists, from Manet to Hopper. The museum is also offering several Tea & Tour events featuring an introduction by Museum Director Constance Schwartz, followed by an exclusive docent-led exhibition tour and a menu of tea, sandwiches, scones and sweets in the Museum Café. For further information on these and other events, or to register, log onto nassaumuseum.com or call (516) 484-9338, ext. 12.

Wall panels for the exhibition:

Introduction

The exhibition, The American Spirit: The Paintings

of Mort Künstler, focuses on two catalysts -- history

and America -- neither of which generally figures high

on the list of themes explored by contemporary

artists. They are, nevertheless, ideas that once

enjoyed great prestige in the realm of art. Here,

Mort Künstler presents historical narration in

representations involving great mastery.

To study the relationship of art and history is to

subject the viewer to a veritable litany on history

painting. The common denominator in the works

selected for this exhibition, a journey through

American history, from the outset poses the

historical question in relation to time, space and

location. On view, not only is our nation the

privileged scene of historical narrative, but its

actual protagonist. The paintings represent a

geographical demarcation, a multiple of narratives

involving political and military events, treaties,

battles, sieges, surrenders, triumphs and heroes.

Through Mort Künstler's talented eye and hand that

animate each scene with sustained research, there is

a constant shift between history and memory,

testimony from heirs, information from historical

and cultural curators, and all the factors that are

involved in creating a clearly defined moment.

It will be noted that these paintings are historical

borrowings, fabricated on behalf of the

representation of the historic events themselves,

and they are all controlled by the artist, Mort

Künstler. In a style comparable to those artists of

the Golden Age of Illustration, Künstler's paintings

are a documented history of his own invention based

on the research and reconstruction of a time that is

not a face-to-face encounter. The paintings are

renderings of an original moment built on the

illusion of the artist's having been there, of being

in the presence of the event at the time of its

actual occurrence. In each work, Künstler develops a

reconstruction, a re-enactment, a tradition that is

especially popular when it comes to the American

Civil War. People today continue to dress up in

Yankee and Confederate uniforms and replay the

decisive moments of these conflicts.

Mort Künstler is the absent narrator of the painted

saga on view and part of the aim of this exhibition

is to identify some of the strategies that the

artist employs to convey historical information

without being engulfed by it. The viewer therefore

examines the works from a dual perspective, focusing

at once on the story of America and the various ways

in which the individual historical narrative is evoked.

* * *

We want to express our gratitude to Mort Künstler

for his gracious cooperation in helping to develop

this exhibition, which brings to life the proud

history of America. To Richard Lynch, President, and

Howard Shaw, Vice President of Hammer Galleries, we

especially offer our gratitude for their ongoing

friendship, support, and sponsorship. We also wish

to extend our appreciation to the Nassau Educators

Federal Credit Union for their sponsorship of this

exhibition as well, which will provide new insights

into American history for our youthful audiences.

The public institutions and private collectors who

have so generously lent their works of art to this

presentation are our museum's major resource and we

are most grateful to them for their generosity.

Without the abiding interest and support of the

sponsors of this exhibition, the collectors, and

Hammer Galleries, this exhibition could not have

been possible.

Constance Schwartz

Director

rev. 8/31/06

Read more articles and essays concerning this institutional source by visiting the sub-index page for the Nassau County Museum of Art in Resource Library

Visit the Table of Contents for Resource Library for thousands of articles and essays on American art, calendars, and much more.