a Rush to match the rush around here!

If Mort has ever done a painting that so perfectly matches the mood around the studio at present, it’s ‘Rush to the Summit.’ The combination of men on horseback and infantry rushing past, all with a great sense of urgency in their carriage and expressions, make for a very stirring painting. The Autograph Seekers was a beautiful pause in a lush setting; Rush to the Summit has a kind of sublime pre-combat tension to it. The smoke of the battle hasn’t settled in yet, so we see how much rides in this moment on Chamberlain and his men, rushing through a clearing to face an outcome unknown to them.

What we do here for Mort doesn’t compare to heading into battle. I do know, though, that part of my genuine love of this piece comes from identifying with that great sense of urgency. The leather-bound edition of The Red Badge of Courage has been just flying out of here since we posted it on the website. Plus, ‘The Autograph Seekers of Bel Air’ has rightfully charmed nearly every fan from here to Tierra del Fuego, and it seems we can’t get them out quickly enough! I may have to save up and get a print before we’re sold out. And we all keep battening down hatches to keep from floating away in all of this rain; at least Mort is at work on a painting set in the sunny South, so he has some light in his days. I may still have to order him the windshield wipers he’d like for his skylight, though.

~K.B.