Echoes of the Past:
The Civil War 150 Years Later
The Randolph County Community Arts Center will host Echoes of the Past: The Civil War 150 Years Later, an exhibit commemorating the First Campaign of the Civil War. The exhibit will open on June 22, 2011 at 5 p.m. with a reception for exhibiting artists and the public and will run daily through August 17.
Exhibit Hours: Monday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The exhibit will be held in conjunction with the statewide activities commemorating the First Campaign of the Civil War. In 1861, before First Manassas, General McClellan brought almost 20,000 troops (mostly from Ohio and Indiana) into Virginia to try to protect the B&O railroad and the mountain passes that connected the Ohio River with the Shenandoah Valley. The first land battles of the Civil War were fought in this area between June 3 and July 14. All of these engagements took place within 30 miles of present-day Elkins. The Union victories secured western Virginia for the Union, led to McClellan’s promotion to commander of all Union forces and to statehood for West Virginia two years later.
"We are proud that our exhibit will be part of the commemoration of the sesquicentennial of our Civil War," said Victor Thacker, chairman of board of the Randolph County Community Arts Center. "We have been talking about doing this exhibit for almost four years, but the idea did not become a reality until Doreen Hall, one of the founding members of the Arts Center board, began calling all these artists out of the blue. Once they realized they would be part of commemorating the very First Campaign of the war, almost every one she talked with became an enthusiastic contributor to the exhibit. We are thrilled to have so many of the great names in the contemporary Civil War art seen together in our Great Hall."
The exhibit will include original two and three-dimensional works, as well as a limited number of giclée and limited edition lithograph prints, by contemporary artists whose primary focus is the Civil War. Exhibiting artists will include Gary Casteel, Mark Churms, Dale Gallon, Mort Künstler, James Muir, Rick Reeves, Keith Rocco, Bradley Schmehl, John Paul Strain and Don Troiani. According to Beth King, RCCAC Executive Director, “Doreen Hall, RCCAC Board President and Exhibit Committee Chairperson, has invested the bulk of her winter curating this exhibit and visiting with artists. The selection of artists and works that she has pulled together is truly remarkable.”
According to Doreen Hall, RCCAC Board President and Exhibits Committee Chairperson, “We are excited and honored to have such accomplished historical artists exhibiting work at the Randolph County Community Arts Center in our exhibition commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. These wonderful paintings, sculptures and prints will give visitors an insight into how events unfolded 150 years ago, as depicted by the artists.”
The show will predominately be comprised of original works. Gary Casteel of Cashtown, Pa. will exhibit his original oil painting, Adagio, as well as two bas-relief resin casts titled Gen. A. G. Jenkins and Gen. Ambrose Burnside and one bronze sculpture titled Home Sweet Home. Mark Churms of Kearneysville, W.Va. will exhibit five original oil paintings, all untitled. Dale Gallon of Gettysburg, Pa., will exhibit his original oil paintings Farewell Rose and Tomorrow We Must Attack. James Muir of Sedona, Ariz. will exhibit three Bronze Sculptures titled Cry Freedom, Letter from Home and The Bower. Rick Reeves of Tampa, Fla. will exhibit two original oil paintings, Devil on the River and In the Field. Bradley Schmehl of York, Pa. will exhibit five original oil paintings including Death of Reynolds, Grim Harvest of War, Full Portrait of Lee, We Gained Nothing but Glory and Reconnaissance at McDowell.
The exhibit will also include several giclée and limited edition lithograph prints. The giclée print of Mort Künstler’s The Mud March will be included in the exhibition. Keith Rocco of Edinburg, Va. will exhibit two giclée prints, Marshall's Crossroads and Mosby's Rangers. John Paul Strain of Fort Worth, Texas will exhibit one giclée print titled Defenders of the Valley. Don Troiani of Southbury, Conn. will exhibit two limited edition signed lithographs titled Confederate Sharpshooters and Berdan’s Sharpshooters. Limited edition prints, giclée prints, miniatures and books from a number of the exhibiting artists will also be available for purchase.
On exhibit in the Maxwell Gallery at this time will be the exhibit "Grit and Determination", a solo exhibition of photographs focusing on Civil War sites and Civil War reenactment works by photographer Reid Mason of Belington.
Funding for the exhibit is provided by the Randolph County Community Arts Center as well as the Randolph County Commission, the City of Elkins, West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, Marjorie Wolfe, June Myles, John and Joyce Allen, John C. Allen, Jr., Charles Lilly / Red Bone Mining Company, Don and Doreen Hall, Dr. and Mrs. Victor Thacker, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Wamsley.
