To stay informed about Mort Künstler’s latest releases and upcoming shows, please fill out our Membership Form. Membership will provide you with email notification when news occurs.

By Phyllis A.S. Boros

	Historical renderings: Famed Civil War artist Mort Künstler, seen here in his Long Island studio, is expected in Fairfield Saturday for a gallery event featuring a regiment of Civil War reenactors.

For many Civil War buffs around the world, there are few artists working today more adept at bringing America'' history alive than Mort Künstler.

Considered one of America's most accomplished historical artists, Künstler has devoted the past two decades researching the War Between the States (1861 - 65) and filling his canvases with scenes depicting aspects of the conflict, from critical battles to social gatherings among officers to the daily routines of soldiers.

Künstler - who has a view of Long Island Sound and Stamford from his Oyster Bay, N.Y., home - comes to Fairfield Saturday to sign copies of his newest book, "The Civil War Art of Mort Künstler," published by the Greenwich Workshop of Seymore ($85).

Künstler, who has more than a dozen art books to his credit, will be on hand Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Greenwich Workshop gallery in downtown Fairfield.

Chris Usher, gallery director, said the afternoon event will feature a display of Künstler's limited-edition prints (which will be on view through May 4), as well as a visit by Civil War re-enactors from the 8th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, Company A.

Copies of "Gods and Generals," Künstler's 2002 art book that accompanied the Ted Turner movie of the same name, also will be available for purchase ($29.95); it too was published by the gallery's parent company, Greenwich Workshop.

"Mort Künstler is the foremost Civil War artist of our time - if not of all time," says Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr., a Civil War historian and author of "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend."

"To study his paintings is to simply see history alive," Robertson adds.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson notes that "Of all the artists working in the Civil War field, none captures the human element, the aura of leadership, the sense of being there and sharing in the drama, quite like Mort Künstler.

"He has the enviable talent of being able to re-create history on canvas and to translate events into art."

How does he do it?

Said Künstler: "It's simple really. I love to paint pictures that tell a story. I'm a narrative painter, who's been doing this for more than 50 years."

Künstler, 73, said earlier this week in a telephone chat from his Long Island home-studio, that he attributes his success to three things: having "a good hand with a paint brush, a passion for what I'm doing and the ability to think."

"With whatever I'm painting, I think 'Why am I doing this? How can I best tell the story?'"

And the stories he tells are usually ones that other artists have not attempted.

Künstler said he sees little point for him to do paintings of particular Civil War events that have been done by scores of other artists through the years.

"There's much more satisfaction knowing that something I am painting has probably never been painted before."

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native said that he finds his subject matter by voraciously reading non-fiction works about the Civil War and by touring battle sites and war-related historic areas.

"I've always had an aptitude for action" paintings, said Künstler, who for several years focused on Western scenes. His penchant for action/adventure paintings eventually led him to create works that depicted "epic events in American history."

Künstler - a former commercial illustrator who studied art at Brooklyn College, the University of California at Los Angeles and Pratt Institute - said he became interested in the Civil War in 1982, after winning a commission from CBS-TV to do a painting for the mini-series, "The Blue and the Gray."

His painting, "The High Water Mark," was presented to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum on July 2, 1988, in observance of the 125th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.

"The more I read about the Civil War, the more I researched it, the more fascinated I became," the artist said.

"It really was the war that formed this country."

Künstler added that he agrees with the many historians who contend that "prior to the Civil War, we were a confederation of states. After the war, we became one nation."

The Greenwich Workshop Gallery is at 1657 Post Road in downtown Fairfield. Saturday's event is free and open to the general public. Gallery hours are Monday through Wednesday and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. For additional information, call 255-4613 or visit the Web site at www.greenwichworkshop.com. For additional information on the artist, visit www.mortkunstler.com.

Return to Recent News