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By Audrey Windsor Bergner
For Middleburg Life

If ever there was a doubt that Middleburg has also become a Mecca for artists and art connoisseurs, it has been dispelled by the increasingly important role art and artists are assuming in local life.

A big art celebration this autumn concerns a man known as "America's Foremost Historical Artist."

It has oft been said that one picture speaks louder than a thousand words, and seldom has that been more true than a picture painted by Mort Künstler.

From the Indian wars and surrender of Chief Joseph and the pioneers who settled the West, to the immigrants of Ellis Island and the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, Mr. Künstler has portrayed on canvas both the glories and tragedies of America.

For the last decade, his artistic efforts have been dedicated to the events and scenes of the Civil War. With tremendous skill he leads one into the drama of being there, of experiencing the sounds, smells and heartbreak of battle, whether at Antietam, Gettysburg or Appomattox.

He also depicts the other side of war - a ball attended by the dashing J.E.B. Stuart or a tender lover's farewell in front of an old church. Since so many Civil War battles and skirmishes occurred on Virginia soil, Mr. Künstler has spent many days roaming through the towns and villages dotting the Old Dominion. And he has turned his attention to Middleburg!

His latest work of art, entitled "Brief Encounter", portrays Confederate cavalry-men mounting and readying to depart on a snowy night, illuminated by gaslight as their commanding officer tips his hat to a lady in a horse-drawn sleigh.

And where does this occur? In front of the Red Fox Inn, the oldest building in Middleburg. Künstler draws us into the scene, simultaneously feeling both the cold and warmth of reflected light on the snow. We wonder anew at the beauty of a building, its stones so carefully delineated, which has stood watch over the town for hundreds of years.

What's fascinating is not just the realism of the scene, but that is a rare picture of Middleburg during that period, aside from one done in 1862 by Thomas Nast, famed cartoonist for New York's Harper's Weekly.

Nast obviously drew that from second-hand sources, for neither the buildings nor setting are accurate.

Occupied by both Union and Confederate forces for five long years, Middleburg knew well the heartbreak of war. Now, thanks to Mort Künstler, we can share the drama and tug-at-the-heart emotions of a time in Southern history that still burns brightly around the Piedmont.

Mr. Künstler has kindly offered to do a presentation of "The Civil War through Art" to American history students at The Hill School on Nov. 18th, and will be unveiling "Brief Encounter" and signing his books and lithographs on Saturday, Nov. 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Emmanuel Church Parish House on Washington Street.

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