Civil War Illustrated

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address. In commemoration of those pivotal and defining events in the American Civil War and U.S. history, The Trout Gallery presents more than 50 drawings from combat illustrators who served as artist-reporters during the Civil War. This special exhibition, First Hand: Civil War-Era Drawings From the Becker Collection, runs through Oct. 19.

The Civil War was one of the first major conflicts covered by the newly emerging media of illustrated newspapers, including Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and Harper's Weekly. Combat illustrators known as "special artists," prepared drawings of various aspects of warfare and camp life and shipped them to their editorial offices, where the images were engraved and paired with news articles. This exhibition from the Becker Collection presents drawings and corresponding illustrations from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, illuminating the origins of what we today call embedded journalists.

Joseph Becker's career with Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper spanned four decades. Upon his retirement in 1900, he took with him nearly 700 original drawings, which he and other artist-reporters produced to accompany news articles during the Civil War.

An exhibition reception will be held on Friday, Aug. 30 from 4 to 5 p.m. in Rubendall Recital Hall, Weiss Center for the Arts, with guest lecturer Harold Holzer, a writer and leading authority on Lincoln and the political culture of the Civil War-era. He serves as the chair of The Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation and as the first Roger Hertog Fellow at The New York Historical Society. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Published June 10, 2013