As it appear in the Culpeper-Star
Exponent
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Künstler
unveils ‘Tender is the Heart’
Painting
first of A.P. Hill
By
Allison Brophy Champion
Confederate General Robert
E. Lee nervously cradles Lucy Lee Hill in artist Mort
Künstler’s brand new painting Tender
is the Heart, as Lee is shown looking
down at the infant’s face while holding on tight.
Over his shoulder, General A.P. Hill of Culpeper
looks unconcerned, a proud father though unaware of
his impending death at Petersburg
the next year.
Beside Hill stands his young wife, Dolly, a new
mother, a blue-eyed beauty looking smashing in purple.
Friends and family surround the Hills at this
special time, Lucy’s baptism, and it is a rare, peaceful
moment amid war.
The date is May 1, 1864 and the setting the Mayhurst
Inn of Orange. General Lee has been named little Lucy Lee’s
godfather and she, in return,
shares the famed general’s name.
In his more than 50 years as a professional painter,
Künstler never painted A.P. Hill – until Tender
is the Heart, that is.
But it is to Lee that the painting is dedicated:
2007 is the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Visitors and fans can meet and greet Künstler
Saturday at the Museum of Culpeper History
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as he officially unveils the
painting.
Künstler, who lives in New
York, said he always tries to
portray the personal side of the Civil War, from both
sides.
“So many of these exceptional Americans displayed
such remarkable fortitude, such devout faith, a willingness
to make sacrifices, and an incredible sense of duty,”
he said in a news release.
“That’s especially true of Robert
E. Lee, who in many ways personifies the best of that
generation of Americans.”
In all, only 250 copies of the gicleé – a print
on canvas – will be made available of Tender is the Heart.
The painting sells for $395 and can be purchased
at Village Frameworks & Gallery on Main
Street, Culpeper.
