Künstler Paintings at Heritage American Art Auction - Nov. 3, 2017

Heritage Auctions • American Art Signature Auction • Dallas • Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 • 11:00 pm CST/ 12:00 pm EST • Online bidding open now • Click on each image below for more information, or click here • Contact Aviva Lehmann at Heritage Auctions • (212) 486-3530 • avival@ha.com

A Fleeting Moment

Stonewall and Mary Anna Jackson, Winchester, Va., Feb. 1, 1862

2003, oil on canvas, 26" x 38"
Lot #69177

I chose Winchester again as the setting for this painting of Stonewall and Mary Anna Jackson. It was the winter of 1861-62 that Jackson had established his headquarters there and brought his wife from Lexington. They had little time together during the war, and this was the single longest interlude that they enjoyed. He spent a lot of time that winter moving around Winchester, but he was able to have a precious moment or two with his wife. — Mort Künstler

The Angel of the Battlefield

Clara Barton with Walt Whitman at Chatham, December 15, 1862

2010, oil on canvas, 23" x 34"
Lot # 69176

In December of 1862, the small town of Fredericksburg, Virginia bore witness to one of the most one-sided battles of the entire Civil War. After crossing the Rappahannock River and taking possession of the heavily shelled town, Federal troops were devastated during a series of futile assaults on an impenetrable area beyond the city.  Among the sea of bloody uniforms, a number of gray-clad wounded Confederate soldiers were caught behind enemy lines.  Clara Barton, "The Angel of the Battlefield," treated them with the same care and concern that she employed with the Union soldiers. The poet and journalist Walt Whitman was a frequent hospital volunteer and field aide during the war, and was there to assist Clara Barton after this battle. 

Amber's Mirage

Paperback book covers

1982, oil on board, 17-1/2" x 23"

Lot #69025

Art Auction: Two Original Civil War Paintings

A Rare Opportunity to Own Classic

Mort Künstler Civil War Paintings

We have just learned that two much admired and beloved original paintings are coming up for auction this Saturday

Auctioneers Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates

jeffreysevans.com

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Americana and Fine Arts Auction

Online bidding now available

Contact Will Kimbrough
804-840-2504
wfkimbrough@jeffreysevans.com

Lot #646

Iron Horses, Men of Steel

Winchester, Va., June 1861

Oil on canvas, 28" x 40"

Lot #647

Wayside Farewell

Middletown, Virginia, February 3, 1863

Oil on canvas, 28" x 46"

If you would like to speak to us about this auction before calling the auction house, we are happy to talk to you.

Upcoming Art Auction: 8 Original Illustrations for Sale!

Eight vintage paintings from the '50s and '60s – Mort's most prolific period creating covers and interior illustrations for popular men's adventure magazines – will be coming up for auction this month.

"Kunstler was at the top of the game in his genre, putting incredible detail and accurate descriptions of uniforms, weapons, and settings into his paintings...Beginning in 1954, he created hundreds of Magazine Management's best-painted covers. His art has appeared in major magazines, such as National Geographic. The Saturday Evening Post, and Newsweek, and his commercial oeuvre also includes film posters and advertising work."
              – Max Allan Collins and George Hagenauer, Men's Adventure Magazines in Postwar America:                      The Rich Oberg Collection, Köln: Taschen GMBH, 2004, p. 500.

The Night the Mob took Over Thrill Park  by Mort Künstler

The Night the Mob Took Over Thrill Park

For Men Only magazine cover, November 1967

Gouache on board

11.5 x 16.625 in. (sight)

Signed lower right

Lot #71109

Click here for more information or to place an online bid.

For Men Only magazine cover, November 1967

The Nude Decoy by Mort Künstler

The Nude Decoy, 1958

Gouache on board

16-1/2 x 18-7/8 inches (unframed)

25-1/2 x 28 inches (framed)

Signed and dated lower left: MKünstler

Lot #71110

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The Nude Decoy, Stag Magazine interior illustration, 1958

This painting was used multiple times as double page illustrations for stories in Stag and Sportsman magazines. "My wife Deborah was the model for this illustration done in the 50s. She was pregnant at the time and looked terrific. She still looks great even when she's not pregnant!" - Mort Kunstler

Sexy Trap by Mort Künstler

Sexy Trap, Stag or Male magazine illustration, 1968
Gouache on board
15.25 x 23 in. (sight)
signed and inscribed lower right
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Escape From the Tanker  by Mort Künstler

Escape from the Tanker

Gouache on board

15.75 x 18 in. (sight)

Signed lower right

Lot #71112

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The Kill-Crazy Life of John Dillinger  by Mort Künstler

The Kill-Crazy Life of John Dillinger, Stag magazine cover, 1968

Gouache on board

19.125 x 14.75 in. (sight)

signed lower right

Lot #71113

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Stag Magazine Cover, 1968

The Sinking of Yamato by Mort Künstler

The Sinking of Yamato, Stag magazine cover, November 1964

Gouache on board

19.25 x 14.5 in. (sight)

Signed and dated '63' lower right

Lot #71114

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Hanging by a Thread  by Mort Künstler

Hanging by a Thread, American Weekly magazine illustration, 1957

Gouache on board

12.5 x 24in. (sight)

Signed lower right

Lot #71115

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Arctic Ordeal  by Mort Künstler

  Arctic Ordeal, Sports Afield magazine illustration, circa 1959

Gouache on board

19 x 15.75 in.

Initaled lower right

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Upcoming: Scottsdale Art Auction

Two original Mort Künstler paintings are up for auction at the Scottsdale Art Auction,

Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 9:30 PT

Online bidding is available. Click here for more information

Gunsmoke in Nevada by Mort Künstler

Lot 110 • Oil on Board • 19 x 17.5 inches • Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500

Gunfight Illustration by Mort Künstler (Click Here for Auction Page)

"This painting was used for many paperback book covers. The first was Avon books. The art director at Avon, Barbara Bertoli, gave me free reign with the covers. For this painting and others, I did research Old Tucson, a recreated western town. I think this painting is one of my better action pictures." -Mort Kunstler

Frank O'Rourke's Violence at Sundown

This painting was used on the 1963 Avon paperback book cover Gunsmoke in Nevada by Burt Arthur. In 1987 it was used as the pocketbook paperback book cover illustration for Frank O'Rourke's Violence at Sundown - a copy of which will accompany this lot.

B-24 From Naples Missing...Crew Presumed Dead by Mort Künstler

Lot 109 • Gouache on board 19 x 15.5 inches •  Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500

Desert Crash Illustration (Click Here for Auction Page)

"This was the only magazine cover I posed for - I am the pilot on the far right. My good friend and artist James Bama is the pilot on the far left, wiping his brow. Jimmy has become well known for Western art." - Mort Kunstler

Stag Magazine, December 1959, Cover Illustration

This was painting was done for the December 1959 issue of Stag magazine to illustrate a story entitled B-24 From Naples Missing...Crew Presumed Dead by Tom Perkins. A copy of this magazine will accompany this lot.

Paintings at Auction from the Private Collection of Mort Künstler

Three distinguished paintings from Mort’s private collection are going up for auction at Heritage Auctions on May 2. One of Mort’s original masterworks, Duty, Honor and Tears, has been prominently displayed in the Künstler home since it was painted in 2009. It will be available to the public for the very first time.

Beyond his own body of work, Mort has amassed one of the greatest collections of Golden-Age illustration in private hands. He has decided to offer to Heritage pieces by Dean Cornwell, dubbed the “Dean of American Illustrators” by Norman Rockwell, and Joseph Christian Leyendecker who played an extremely influential role in the careers of both Norman Rockwell and Mort Künstler. 

Heritage’s American Art Signature Auction will take place in Dallas on May 2 at 2pm CT.

MORT KÜNSTLER (American, b. 1931)

Duty, Honor and Tears, (Long Branch, Millwood, Virginia, May 24, 1862), 2009

Oil on canvas

28-3/8 x 40 inches (72.1 x 101.6 cm)

Signed and dated lower right: © M Künstler 09

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MORT KÜNSTLER

Lot #68056

Click here for more information or to place an online bid.

JOSEPH CHRISTIAN LEYENDECKER (American, 1874-1951)

The Voice in the Rice, The Saturday Evening Post story illustration, June-July 1909

Oil on canvas

29 x 21 inches (73.7 x 53.3 cm)

Signed with monogram lower left: JC

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MORT KÜNSTLER

Lot #68054

Click here for more information or to place an online bid.

DEAN CORNWELL (American, 1892-1960)

Burning Love, possible American Magazine story illustration, June 1942

Oil on Masonite

39 x 15-1/4 inches (99.1 x 38.7 cm)

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF MORT KÜNSTLER

Lot #68055

Click here for more information or to place an online bid.

Künstler Painting Featured in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine

Fine Art Connoisseur magazine recently published an issue featuring collectors and their favorite pieces. Mort was honored when an art collector with a collection of approximately 125 pieces chose Mort’s painting So Close to the Enemy as his favorite.

Official Release of Respect of an Army at The Heckscher Museum of Art, April 12

The Heckscher Museum of Art
2 Prime Avenue
Huntington, NY 11743
Sunday, April 12, 2015
2:00pm - 4:00pm

Mort Künstler will be signing limited edition prints of Respect of an Army.
Prints and books will be available for purchase. If you are unable to attend the event we ship your purchase.

The Heckscher Museum of Art is pleased to announce the release of Respect of an Army limited edition print by Mort Künstler, Sunday, April 12, 2015. The original painting will be on view from Saturday, April 11, through Sunday, April 19.

End of the Civil War - Künstler Announces Retirement

END OF THE CIVIL WAR

When Mort announced his retirement from the Civil War genre, he planned on his final print release to coincide with the conclusion of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This painting, as many have already guessed, depicts Robert E. Lee after the surrender at Appomattox.

However, there was one more Civil War painting that Mort was compelled to paint. Over twenty years ago, someone wrote Mort a letter about a most unusual event that took place in LaGrange, Georgia. About a week after Lee’s surrender, the Nancy Hart Rifles (an all women militia) confronted Union Col. Oscar H. LaGrange when he and his troops entered their town. LaGrange vs. LaGrange will be released as a limited edition print in LaGrange, Georgia on April 17, 2015, the sesquicentennial of the event. The article below will give you an insight into Mort's retirement and the last two releases.

MORT IS RETIRING

A lot of people thought when Mort announced his final Civil War print series in 2012, that he was retiring. Since then he painted a large body of work on the American Revolution, which resulted in a beautiful volume of his works, The New Nation published by Sterling Publishing, and released last October. However, he recently decided that he really is retiring from painting major works. LaGrange vs. LaGrange will be his last major painting. After 65 years of doing what he loves, it started to feel like work. That’s when it stops being fun. Below is an article based on an interview he gave discussing this change.

Künstler Ends Painting Career With 1865 Georgia Scene
By Bill Bleyer
(February/March 2015 Civil War News)

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. — Mort Künstler has retired after a six-decade career that made him one of America’s foremost painters of historical scenes.

Künstler says his recently completed scene from the end of the Civil War, the subject of most of his paintings in recent years, will be his last because it had become too hard and too time-consuming to continue generating complex historical scenes.

“The reason I want to stop is because it’s starting to feel like work,” Künstler says. “I am 87 years old and have been painting for the last 60 to 65 years professionally. I used to take a paintbrush, dip it in the paint and it was almost like handwriting. Today it’s taking much longer, which takes a lot of the joy out of it.”

He says it used to take him an hour to paint someone’s face in the middle of a crowd scene and now it can take all day.

“I always thought I’d like to die at the easel, but I don’t want to do bad work,” Künstler says. “And although I’m really doing a good painting – I think this new one is one of the best I’ve ever done – I would like to quit at a high note.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Article courtesy of Historical Publications Inc. 

'The Great Beefsteak Raid' to be Auctioned at Sotheby's

THE GREAT BEEFSTEAK RAID: GENERAL WADE HAMPTON, SEPTEMBER 16, 1864
signed © MKünstler and dated '14 (lower left)
oil on canvas
22 by 38 inches
(55.9 by 96.5 cm)

Lot #56

Estimate $25,000 — $35,000 USD

Sotheby's American Art Auction

November 20, 2014

More Information

'They Were Soldiers Indeed' Coming Up For Auction Nov. 17

They Were Soldiers Indeed (Generals Jackson and Lee, Gaines's Mill, Virginia, June 28, 1862), 1995
Gouache on board
19-1/8 x 29-1/4 inches (48.6 x 74.3 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: © M Künstler / '95

Lot #68286

Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000.

Heritage Auctions American Art Signature Auction

November 17, 2014, New York

More Information

The 2014 Annual Snow Print: An Apple for Traveller

We are excited to announce the release of the seventh print in Mort’s “Tribute to the Legend” Series. This is the print Mort’s collectors wait for all year long – the annual snow print. 

“One of my favorite images to paint each year is my annual snow scene. Usually released around the holidays, this piece incorporates some of my favorite lighting and composition techniques. It is therefore no surprise that I have given an enormous amount of thought to what will probably be my last Civil War snow scene.” – Mort Künstler

Click here to purchase a Limited Edition Artist's Proof print.

The Making of a Masterpiece: An Apple for Traveller Phase 4

Lee commanded a great deal of respect – as can be seen by the officers and soldiers

observing this tender moment.

The Making of a Masterpiece: An Apple for Traveller Phase 3

Mort has begun to paint Lee – and you can see from the composition the affection

he had for his favorite mount, Traveller.

The Making of a Masterpiece: An Apple for Traveller Phase 2

With just a small portion of the canvas painted, you can already see the overall feel to the painting and the beginning of the lighting effect.