Gettysburg: The Paintings of Mort Kunstler [Hardcover]

In 1992, the National Park Service was inspired to diplay a series of Kunstler's paintings at Gettysburg. This was apparently the first instance in which the Park had used an art exhibition to help explain the theme of the Battle. Kunstler has said of his Gettysburg paintings that they constituted "the most difficult project' of his career.

This book of paintings was published in 1993 to coincide with the motion picture "Gettysburg." Good art has a life of its own beyond its connection with a film venture, and this book does.
The book includes a running text by historian James McPherson explaining, in a clear and simple way, the basics of the Battle of Gettysburg. But the real attraction of the book lies in Kunstler's paintings. I would suggest reading the book through a first time with McPherson's commentary and then turning one's attention to the paintings. (There is an index of the paintings at the end of the book.)

There are approximately 60 paintings in the book which cover virtually every significant aspect of the Battle and many of its protagonists. The book begins with Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania and has several excellent paintings of his army passing through town and countryside en route to what would become an epic battle. There are pictures of the fighting of each of the three days. I was pleased that the book included several paintings of the first day of the battle, including an excellent picture of Union Cavalry Commander Burford spending a restless night of pacing before what would become the onset of the Battle. On the second day, the book features Joshua Chamberlain and Little Round Top with a very good painting as well of Barksdale's charge. There are many paintings of Pickett's charge, from both sides of the field, and paintings of the Confederate retreat from Pennsylvania. There is also an outstanding large-scale painting of the cavalry battle on the third day between Stuart and Custer, which sometimes is overlooked. The book concludes with a portrait of Lincoln at Gettysburg delivering his famous address.

The characters portrayed in the paintings include Lee, Longstreet, Stuart, Pickett (and this three brigade commanders Armistead, Garnett, and Kemper) and Barksdale. Union portrayals include Lincoln, Reynolds, Burford, and Chamberlain. (There are no portraits of Meade, the Union commander, or of Hancock.)

The cumulative effect of the paintings is impressive. The paintings evidence a good deal of study and give a good account of uniforms, terrain, and the topography of the Battlefield. for the most part, the paintings avoid the sentimentality that frequently accompanies this type of art. Some of the paintings, such as the painting of Burford that I mentioned above, the painting of the meeting between Lee and Stuart, the painting of Lee greeting his men after Pickett's failed charge, and the paintings showing the hardship of the Confederate retreat following the Battle seem to me particularly well done. They suggest well and creatively the significance of the Battle.

I have some reservations about this form of genre art. But this book captures much of the Battle of Gettysburg and will provoke thought and reflection among its viewers of the significance of this moment. The book combines artistic imagination and a sense of American history. It is an effective way to approach the Battle of Gettysburg through art.

The pictures are crips and the stories about them are quite intersting. It's interesting to see his liberal use of the various histical data and how it was applied to find out more about the background of each print.

If you are a Mort Kunstler fan then this is the book for you.