The Making of a Masterpiece: Respect of an Army Phase 6

In Phase 6 of The Making of a Masterpiece: “Respect of an Army” you can see that Gen. U.S. Grant has been painted and Mort has begun painting Lee and Traveller. You can also see a little more clearly the dramatic shadow the MacLean House is casting on the whole scene. The drama of the moment is truly coming to life.

The Making of a Masterpiece: Respect of an Army Phase 5

In Phase 5 of The Making of a Masterpiece: “Respect of an Army” Mort has begun to paint in some more figures – Gen. U.S. Grant and Lt. Col. Charles Marshall, Lee’s aide-de-camp – and Lee’s horse, Traveller. Limited Edition Artist's Proof prints will be available on our website this Friday.

The Making of a Masterpiece: Respect of an Army Phase 4

Here you can see the progress Mort has made with painting specific members of Grant’s staff on the steps of the McLean House. At the end of this progression, we will post the photographs of the actual people who were present. In the detail here, it is easy to identify who is who.

The Making of a Masterpiece: Respect of an Army Phase 3

Mort has painted the members of the Union army on the left in front of the Appomattox Court House, has begun painting the McLean House on the right.

The Making of a Masterpiece: Respect of an Army Phase 2

“While many artists have painted that event, none that I know of have ever shown the McLean House and Appomattox County Courthouse in the same scene. By walking around the property and studying maps I came up with this viewpoint, which does just that. I then finally decided to at least attempt to emulate Tom Lovell by trying to capture the likenesses of as many of the characters as possible that were verified to have been there. Chief Historian Patrick Schroeder of Appomattox Court House National Park was of immeasurable help, supplying photos, maps, and drawings, and helping me solve the various problems that came up during the work on the painting." – Mort Künstler

 Here you can see the gridlines drawn directly onto the canvas with some of the drawing done. Then you can see the canvas completely drawn up.

With just a little bit of the canvas painted on, you can see that the blue sky with puffy clouds set the tone of the painting.

The Making of a Masterpiece: Respect of an Army Phase 1

“My all-time favorite Civil War painting is the surrender scene painted for National Geographic in the April 1965 issue (pp. 464-465.) It shows Robert E. Lee signing the peace treaty in the parlor of the McLean House. The compassion and respect of General Grant and the Union officers in the room is apparent and very moving. What makes the painting even better are the likenesses of all the characters in the scene. This is an incredibly difficult chore for an artist, and my late friend Tom Lovell (1909-1997) made the painting a tour de force for his talents. 

"I’ve known for some time that I would do the surrender scene for the 150th Anniversary of Appomattox. The problem was I did not know what I would paint. I always like to do something that no one else has done, and Appomattox has been painted thousands of times by hundreds of artists. Added to that was the fact that I had already done two paintings of the subject and I certainly was not going to attempt to do the same scene that my friend and idol had done so masterfully. I had already painted Lee riding back through Confederate lines on April 9 after the signing – Lovell’s painting is the actual signing. That left the time when Lee departed the McLean House and passed through the lines."
– Mort Künstler

Here are the initial preliminary sketches Mort drew for Respect of an Army. When you see the finished painting, you’ll be able to see whether or not the final painting is much different from his first sketches.