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A
Window On The Past
The following article appeared
in The Journal
of Martinsburg, WV on April 28, 2001.
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By John McVey
Staff Writer
Charlestown - What greater feeling could there be for artists
than to stir the emotions of art patrons? None, said Mort
Künstler, a professional artist of 50 years. "Who wouldn't
be pleased when people line up at 5 in the morning to get
you to sign one of your prints?" the 69 year old native
of Brooklyn, N.Y. asked Friday.
Künstler, which means artist in German, is best known
for his Civil War paintings, although he has painted historic
events from the Revolutionary War to a space shuttle blasting
off. He has specialized in the Civil War almost exclusively
for about the past 13 years, he said.
Künstler is unveiling his latest limited edition Civil
War print, "Letter From Home," today at Antietam Gallery in
the Martinsburg Mall, as well as promoting his latest book,
"The Confederate Spirit."
"I love painting the Civil War for one reason: When I
painted Western subject matter; there are hundreds of artists
painting Western scenes, but when I paint a scene from the
Civil War, no one else has probably painted that scene,"
Künstler explained. "It's fun to paint a scene that has
never been painted before. You open up a window on the past."
For example, when he pained "Jackson Commandeers the Railroad,"
which depicts Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson capturing
locomotives at Martinsburg, that is the only painting about
that true historic event. And because it shows buildings
and places that people go by every day, Künstler's paintings
resonate with the viewer.
"Letter From Home" shows a young Civil War soldier in
camp, oblivious to all activity around him, focusing intently
on a priceless treasure: a letter from home.
Künstler, who now lives in Oyster Bay on Long Island,
N.Y., is well-known for his emotional scenes and historical
accuracy. He is considered by authorities in the field to
be America's reigning dean of historical artists.
His favorite artists range from Leonardo da Vinci to Norman
Rockwell, from Rembrandt to Charles M. Russell.
His artistic talents were evident at an early age. Künstler
was drawing at age 2 and painting at age 5, he said.
He went to Brooklyn College, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn
and University of California at Los Angeles. He began his
career as an illustrator for action magazines such as True,
Argosy and Saga, he said, as well as covers for Boys Life,
Saturday Evening Post and Newsweek.
He has painted movie posters, the most famous of which is
the poster for "The Poseidon Adventure," which now sells for
$350, Künstler said.
His first historical paintings were for National Geographic
Magazine, where he learned the ultimate importance of authenticity
in his work and collaborating with experts in the field
was depicting.
"I found I was good at complex, action paintings," Künstler
said. "I was athletic, which gave me a sense, a feel for
what looked like action."
Above all else, he loves to paint, Künstler said. His
favorite painting is the one he is working on at the moment,
he said.
The works he remembers the most are the paintings that
were "the most difficult, the most time-consuming, but not
necessarily the best," he said.
The most popular of his prints is probably "Until We Meet
Again," said Jim Kehoe, the owner of Antietam Gallery. It
is the one print many people tell him they wish they had
bought back when they could afford it.
The print is a scene of Stonewall Jackson bidding farewell
to his wife at night in the snow in front of his winter headquarters
in Winchester just before he mounts his horse and rides off.
F&M Bank-Winchester owns the original as well as seven other
Künstler originals.
Someday, Charles Town and the Jefferson County Courthouse
could be in a Künstler original, he said.
Künstler plans to return to the area on June 10 to unveil
his next print. He will be at Applegate Art in the Creekside
Mall in Winchester promoting a work about Confederate Gen.
Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox to Union Gen. Ulysses
S. Grant.
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