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Lot 373
Description:
Charles Dorman Robinson (American, 1847-1933), "The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip," oil on canvas, signed and dated "1902" lower right, 60 in. x 108 in., in an attractive gilt frame.
- Notes: Note: Charles Dorman Robinson, who studied under such illustrious artists as noted marine painters William Bradford and Maurits Frederick Hendrik De Haas and celebrated American landscape painters Albert Bierstadt and Jasper Francis Cropsey, was highly influenced by the Hudson River School. His landscapes and marine paintings often depict an attention to light and atmospheric details, reflecting the new American ideals in painting. This rare depiction by Robinson of a Civil War battle, The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, portrays the moment when the Union Navy, led by Admiral Farragut, bypasses the two forts on the river. After the ships were out of range of the forts, they were able to defeat the Confederate ships, which included the CSS Manassas, and the CSS Mississippi. This particular batt e was an important Union victory, as it led to the capture of New Orleans and the conquest of the Mississippi River. It was a blow to the Confederacy, which no longer had control of this major port city that had often provided the troops with equipment and goods. From New Orleans, Farragut was able to send his ships farther up the river to capture other cities, such as Baton Rouge, Natchez, and Vicksburg. Another important outcome of this battle is that, because it was fought and won forty miles downriver from the actual city, New Orleans was spared much of the destruction of war that fell upon less fortunate Southern cities. In the famed colored lithograph, "The Splendid Naval Triumph on the Mississippi, April 24th, 1862," printed by Currier & Ives in 1862 and located in the U.S. Navy Art Collection, we can decipher many of the Union ships traveling up the Mississippi River and engaging in combat with both Confederate ships and Forts Jackson and St. Philip. While this print depicts the scene from the perspe tive of the Union Navy conquering the Rebels, the Robinson painting, by contrast, portrays the heroic efforts of the CSS Louisiana, the last defense of the city of New Orleans, as it battles off the USS Iroquois. The rest of the fighting fades into the smoky, blazing background as the Iroquois and the Louisiana battle amidst the exploding mortars landing around them, each vying for control of the Mighty Mississippi.
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October 11, 2008 10:00 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US
Neal Auction Company
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