More on Art (As Opposed to Moron Art)

I’m back from Tennessee (and Mississippi).  There’s nothing like a few days on a battlefield with like-minded fellows to recharge the old batteries.  I’ve compiled a long list of things to write about – including some items carried over from old lists – all the way from more thoughts on books to an article in the new Civil War Times Illustrated to former McNairy County sheriff Buford Pusser. 

Mannie has a new post on Civil War art, taking a close look at a true master, Winslow Homer.  Check it out (proof that great minds really do think alike).  While at the beautiful Corinth Visitor’s Center (more on that later), I came across a wonderful print of The Fifth Minnesota Regiment at Corinth.  It’s a striking work, oil on canvas painted by Edwin H. Blashfield in 1912, and is one of six paintings of Minnesota regiments in the Governor’s Suite of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.  For $15 I couldn’t resist, even though I realize it will cost many times that price to have it suitably matted and framed.  You can order it direct from Minnesota Historical Society here.

You may recognize part of the painting from the dust jacket of the recent collection of essays, Struggle for a Vast Future.  The full painting depicts a line of Union soldiers, with color guard and mounted officers, advancing over dead and wounded Confederates toward a lone upright Rebel officer fronting a silent battery.  The officer’s carriage and the look on his face can be described as defiantly resigned.  The guns in question are actually a Union battery, being retaken by the Minnesotans who are led by their Colonel, Lucius Hubbard, the apex of the composition.

This thing is gonna look great on my wall.