Artist: Edwin Forbes (1838-1895)
Title: [Necessary Routine:] On Picket& Washing Day. Plate 8 [from Life Studies of the Great Army]
Location: [New York]
Publisher: [H. (Harry) J. Johnson]
Date: 1876.
Series:Life Studies of the Great Army (New York: H. J. Johnson, 1876); plate 8 of 40.Copy-righted 1876 by E. Forbes.Plate 8 [of 40 from Life Studies of the Great Army].
Format: Hand-colored etching
Size: 12 1/16 x 18 1/16 inches.
Summary: Double subject on a singlesheet, at left, a Union infantryman stands picket in a cold rain, shelteringhis musket; at right, a soldier marches with freshly washed garments drapedfrom a ramrod. Titlesprinted in the lower margin beneath each vignette: “On Picket” (left) and “WashingDay” (right); center “PLATE 8.”;left margin with the 1876 copyright line; plate signed “E. Forbes” at lower right.
Historical Context:Edwin Austin Forbes(1839 in New York, New York County, New York – March 6th, 1895 in Brooklyn, KingsCounty, New York) was a New York–born painter, illustrator, and master etcherbest known for his Civil War imagery. Trained from 1857 under animal andfrontier painter Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, Forbes became a “special artist” forFrank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper in 1861–62, following the Army of thePotomac and producing hundreds of on-the-spot sketches that shaped public viewsof the war. After the war he reworked those field drawings into the acclaimed40-plate portfolio Life Studies of theGreat Army (New York: H. J. Johnson, 1876), for which he received a medalat the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Forbes would later publish a sequel,Thirty Years After (1890). In additionto war subjects, Forbes painted landscapes and animals throughout his career.Forbes died in Brooklyn in 1895.
Hand-colored version of this etchingare scarce, some versions of this etching have an alternate title, “A Rainy Day on Picket”.
Condition:The bottom edge of the printis uneven, worn, and clearly has been trimmed (there is also one horizontaltear that is confined to margin and does not impact etching or titles). Thereis some discoloration which is most noticeable around the etching and generaldirt/soiling over the entire surface. On the back there is some surface damageon the edges due to old frame nails. See pictures.
References:
- NationalGallery of Art, Plate 8: A Rainy Day on Picket; Washing Day (work record).
- MedfordHistorical Society, plate list for Life Studies of the Great Army (Plate 8titled “Necessary Routine: On Picket; Washing Day”).
- SmithsonianAmerican Art Museum, artist entry for Edwin Forbes
- BeckerCollection (Boston College), concise biography noting study with Arthur F. Taitand employment at Frank Leslie’s.
- VirginiaMuseum of History & Culture, “An Artist’s Story: Civil War Drawings byEdwin Forbes”
- IndianaHistorical Society, collection note for Life Studies of the Great Army
- Find aGrave. Edwin Austin Forbes.Green-Wood Cemetery, Greenwood Heights, Kings County, New York
Item Number:G0203
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