Click to enlarge

"After The Snow" by Mort Kunstler

Signed & Numbered Limited Edition Print

Oficially Snow Print

Winchester, Va.

Image Size: 16" x 30".

Edition size: 1850 S/N

Issue price: SOLD OUT (Only available on our secondary market--call for current price and abvailability--800-237-6077)

Mort Künstler's Comments:

For nearly ten years, I have wanted to paint the courthouse in Winchester. With a fenced-in area that was used by both the North and South to contain prisoners, and with Winchester constantly changing hands, the courthouse was in frequent use.

By painting the scene in winter (when the front courtyard was not full of prisoners), I could focus on the courthouse and also try to incorporate some of the other buildings in the area.

The courthouse, built in 1840, has changed very little since the Civil War days. The only pictorial evidence I had were the drawings by James E. Taylor in his sketchbook, Traveling With Sheridan Up the Valley. He depicts the courthouse in two sketches that are very informative but also presented problems. In his two drawings, a fan shaped window was placed inside the triangular shaped facade under the roof and above the columns. There is no evidence of that window today. I was certain that no artist would take time to paint in a window unless it was actually there. However, historian Ben Ritter of Winchester felt that Taylor could have mixed up his buildings when he got back to his studio to execute his final drawings. Ben told me Taylor had made mistakes of that sort in other drawings and paintings based on his on-the-spot notes and unfinished sketches. Ben consulted with Maral Kalbian, Architectural Historian, who stated that she did not believe there ever was a fan shaped window, which was more appropriate for a Jeffersonian-inspired Roman Revival-style building and not the Greek Revival style of the courthouse.

I argued the point of an artist doing work that was not necessary. Ben then asked the town clerk's office to examine the inside of the courthouse and they confirmed no evidence of a fan shaped window. If Taylor had been able to spend more time, I am sure he would have been more accurate, but traveling with an army as a sketch artist presents additional problems.

The C.E. Taylor & Co. (no relation) Bakery is on the left where the F&M Bank stands today. The building on the extreme right was the Senseny Building during the Civil War. It is now the Feltner Building, corporate headquarters of the F&M Bank. To the right of the courthouse in the far background, with the arches, is the Market House. Behind the Senseny building are the Clerk's office and the office of the Winchester Virginian.

According to James I. Robertson, Jr., Alumni distinguished professor at Virginia Tech, on January 6, 1862, Winchester had a four-inch snowfall. It is 4:50 p.m., about fifteen minutes before sunset and the sun has just popped out before setting. as the storm passes off to the northeast. Sadly, the storms clouds of war would not go away so easily.

 

CALL 1-252-635-6400

BETWEEN THE HOURS OF:

10am - 5pm Monday-Friday(EST)

10am - 4pm on Saturdays (EST)...

TO ORDER AND/OR CHECK ON THE PRICE & AVAILABILITY OF ARTWORK FOUND ON THIS SITE, OR TO LEARN ABOUT ANY OTHER ARTIST'S WORK YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN....CALL 252-635-6400

We accept Cash, Checks, Mastercard, Discover, & Visa.

All sales are final and there is a no return policy.

LEAVE A MESSAGE ON OUR ANSWERING SERVICE ANYTIME!

Please Include:

Your Phone Number

Your Email Address

Your Special Request

The Best Time Of Day To Reach You & Someone From The Framing Fox Gallery Will Get Back To You By The Next Business Day...

**************************************************************************************

FRAMING FOX ART GALLERY LOCATION & MAILING ADDRESS: 217-Middle Street, New Bern, NC 28560 **************************************************************************************

LOCAL PHONE: 252-635-6400



**************************************************************************************

EMAIL: framingfox@me.com

**************************************************************************************

WEB SITE: www.framingfox.com

**************************************************************************************

© Original Artworks, Paintings, Limited Edition Prints, Photographs. All The Paintings, Prints, Sculptures, Photographs, Web Site Designs, and Original Art Concepts are in Tangible Form and are fully Copyrighted by the individual Artists, Publishing Houses, Groups, Business, & Private Individuals represented in this site. They may not be reproduced, or used in any form, or any manner, or be displayed on any other website without the express written consent of their owners...

**************************************************************************************

Thank You & Enjoy Your favorite Art...

Sincerely,

F. Butch Miller

Owner

Framing Fox Art Gallery...

**************************************************************************************