All Mort Künstler wanted was a quick bite to eat, but instead he discovered the American Civil War. It was a cold, gray, wet winter's day in 1988, and Künstler was then known to many in American art circles as "America's foremost historical artist." He had come to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the greatest battle of the War Between the States, to research a painting of Pickett's Charge for the battle's 125th anniversary. Aside from paintings for CBS-TV's "The Blue and The Gray" mini-series in 1982, Künstler had never seriously tackled a Civil War subject in more than 30 years of professional painting. He had done lots of other things, however, including art school at Brooklyn College, U.C.L.A., and Pratt Institute; a long and successful tour as an artist for national magazines like Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic, Newsweek,and, Argosy; and decades of work as an acclaimed artist of historical subjects. He had specialized for a while in the Old West, had done numerous one-man exhibitions, had become affiliated with New York City's prestigious Hammer Galleries and had seen his work showcased in a dazzling art book: The American Spirit: The paintings of Mort Künstler. His historical art hung in prominent spots from Madison Square Garden to the White House, and after years of success he seemed to be at the pinnacle of his career. Then he discovered the Civil War. After a long morning examining the battlefield that day in 1988, Künstler headed into Gettysburg searching for lunch - but was lured into a storefront by a two-word sign: "War Art." It was Gettysburg's American Print Gallery, and without realizing it, the man considered by many to be America's leading historical artist had wandered into America's premier publisher of Civil War art. "I knew who he was and I had seen his work," remembers gallery and publisher Ted Sutphen. "I knew he had the talent and background to paint Civil War art like nobody else had ever done. He's an artist of the old school - the youngest of the great 20th century American magazine artists. I knew the potential of the Civil War art market and I knew with the proper exposure that he had the ability to really explode as a Civil War artist." So Sutphen made an offer: he'd pay the royalties up front for the print rights to Künstler's proposed Gettysburg painting and he'd promise volume sales. The offer surprised Künstler. Even with his vast experience in the art field, he was unaware of the tremendous popularity of Civil War art. He was also unprepared for the response to his first major Civil War canvas, "The High Water Mark," which was snapped up by a wealthy art collector straight from Künstler's studio before the work was even finished. And the print? The limited edition produced a record response and quickly sold out. |
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