The American Civil War: A Nation Divided

The Civil War was a dramatic and devastating time in the history of the United States.

Several artists, including Winslow Homer and Currier & Ives, captured the drama through their art. This spectacular collection of prints from the Civil War bring the battles and the hardships to life through drawings by artists who put their own lives on the line by joining the soldiers on the battlefields and in the camps.

The seven prints by Winslow Homer in this exhibit show the very human side of war, from breaking a wishbone at Thanksgiving to playing "football" to relieve stress. The Currier & Ives portrait of General Ulysses S. Grant follows in their tradition of fine art. Of particular interest in this collection are the works which were published by Frank Leslie, who commissioned twenty skilled artists to spare no expense to obtain sketches of "every battle, skirmish and military movement, to give to the anxious ones at home a vivid and realistic picture of the real war." Artists represented in this collection are Edwin Forbes, William Waud, James E. Taylor, Joseph Becker, Henry Lovie, Francis B. Schell, A. Berghaus, Wm. T. Crane, C.E.H. Bonwill, J.E. Hillen, E.F. Mullen, and F.B. Wilkie, as well as sketches by officers of both sides of the conflict.

This unique exhibit is one of the finest collections of original Civil War prints available.