Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collections

Siege of Petersburg

The privately held Becker Collection, now digitally archived at Boston College, contains approximately 650 previously unexhibited drawings by mid-19th-century American artist-reporters Joseph Becker and colleagues.

On assignment for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, the era’s leading illustrated periodical, these so-called Special Artists of the Civil War produced “first-hand” drawings that were sent to New York for translation into printed engravings. The sketches, many of which were never published, document in lively and specific ways compelling scenes on the battlefield and in camp. Many are set in Virginia. Unlike the period’s laborious photography and other reproductive imagery, the Leslie artists’ eyewitness impressions reveal fresh aspects of America’s divisive trial. VMFA’s exhibition of some 60 drawings, presented in collaboration with the University of Richmond Museums, coincides with the country’s Civil War Sesquicentennial.

ORGANIZER: Boston College
CURATORS: Judith Bookbinder and Sheila Gallagher, curators, Boston College
VMFA COORDINATOR: Dr. Sylvia Yount, Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art
ITINERARY: McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College (fall 2009); Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish NH (spring 2010); VMFA (see above)
ADMISSION: Free through April 3, 2011.
CATALOG: “First Hand: Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection,” edited by Judith Bookbinder and Sheila Gallagher; paperback; 274 pages with 118 color plates; $50

Illustration: Andrew McCallum (American, active 1864-65) executed “Siege of Petersburg: A Night Attack, March 31, 1865″ in graphite on wove paper. The work measures 6-1/2 by 9-1/2 inches. (The Becker Collection).

For More Information: Suzanne Hall, 804/204-2704; or Sarah Pennington, 804/204-2701; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond VA 23220-4007; FAX 804/204-2707; e-mail: suzanne.hall AT vmfa.museum.