Austin Briggs

"Old Glory Rises Over Alaska, " Calendar Illustration

circa 1965

Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Du Pont Safety Calendar, 1941, June # 2270 in the Catalogue Raisonné, 2009

Story illustration for “Last Gun of the Confederacy” by Charles E. Hinkson published in Reader’s Digest, September 1964, pages 58-59. Original copy of magazine included. The illustr...

Medium: Oil on Board Signature: Signed Lower Right Tom Lovell was well known for his thought provoking illustrations for Life magazine, The Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic. He was the first artist to win the National Academy of Western Art's highest honor, the Prix de West, twice. This lot was painted circa 1960 just before he was commissioned to paint a series of Civil War battle...

Signed Lower Right

Duane Bryers, American (1911 - 2012) - Blanket Signals, Year: 1979, Medium: Lithograph, Signed and Numbered in Pencil, Edition: 300, AP, Image Size: 22.5 x 18 inches, Size: 25 i...

Before there was Photorealism, there was Austin Briggs. Done in 1951, this work has all the hallmarks of the 1970's fine art movement and more. Briggs is using photographs as a refer...

Vic Herman, American (1919 - 1999) - Dances of Guanajuato, Year: 1979, Medium: Lithograph, signed and numbered in pencil, Edition: 300, AP, Image Size: 13 x 23.5 inches, Size: 1...

Colonel Bates Leads the 30th Colored Infantry at the Battle of the Crater Watercolor on Paper Circa 1903 15 ½ x 21 ½ Inches 25 ½ x 33 ½ Inches Framed LR: Graves This rare portrait of African American troops serving in battle during the Civil War depicts the 30th United States Colored Infantry at the Battle of the Crater, at Petersburg, Virginia. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863. The Battle of the Crater, July 30th, 1864, was part of the Siege of Petersburg, fought between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (under the direct supervision of the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant). At the top of the painting, Colonel Delevan Bates raises his saber to lead the charge of the 30th United States Colored Infantry. Bates was promoted to this command just prior to this battle, having served with distinction in the 121st New York Infantry at the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Though the Battle of the Crater would eventually be won by the Confederacy, it was here that Bates and 23 other troops would be award the United States highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor. After weeks of preparation, on July 30, Union forces exploded a mine in Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps sector, blowing a gap in the Confederate defenses of Petersburg, Virginia. From this propitious beginning, everything deteriorated rapidly for the Union attackers. Unit after unit charged into and around the crater, where soldiers milled in confusion. Grant considered the assault "the saddest affair I have witnessed in this war." The Confederates quickly recovered and launched several counterattacks led by Brig. Gen. William Mahone. The breach was sealed off, and Union forces were repulsed with severe casualties. Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero's division of black soldiers...