Confederate States Flag

One of the the first national flags of the confederacy is depicted here. I wanted to add something more to this piece rather than just show the flag by itself. After doing some research I discovered that the flag design as well as the design styles of the uniforms of the newly formed southern army had a design link. This is what made the painting shown here an
interesting combination of visual history.

This initial Confederate States flag was designed by a Prussian artist named Nicola Marschall. Mr. Marschall also designed the confederate uniforms we all have become familiar with that use the grey, yellow and blue color combinations used by the armies of the south during the Civil War. Mr Marschall lived in Marion Alabama at the time of this design and must have been active in other design endeavors during his lifetime which I would like to research to find out more.

Mr. Marschall's assignment to come up with a new flag also included a design requirement set by the provisional Confederate Congress that the new flag was to be similar to the"Stars and Stripes" flag used by the north.

Nicloa's design challenge was then can he make the C.S.A. flag different enough using the same combinations of colors, stars and stripes that the U. S. flag incorporated to stand on its own visual merit. Mr Marschall's design did indeed succeed in winning the newly formed governments approval. His unique combination of the elements required by the Congress made a beautiful visual statement that went on to represent the Southern government and was soon referred to as the "Stars and Bars"of the south.

Nicola's flag design was rapidly approved on March 4th 1861 and was shown first publicly at the Ben Johnson house in Bardstown Kentucky. It eventually made its appearance over the confederate capital dome later in the year.

A special note that the initial flag design had only had 7 stars not the eleven star flag depicted here in this painting. As the war progressed and more states fell into the confederacy more stars were added. The eleven star was added July 2nd 1861 and stayed until two more final stars were added November 28, 1861.

Prints of this are now available. A 2'x2' signed canvas Giclee print goes for $1,500.00

Dakota Warriors outside of Fort Snelling Minnesota

This is a recent painting I did to go along with the Fort Snelling painting "series" which I have not posted here yet. The series depicts different scenes about the post as it appeared in 1848. Of course the Dakota people were a big part of the comings and goings of the settlement. This scene shows three Dakota warriors observing from afar. Just enough detail in the painting to evoke the distance between the two cultures the openess of the territory, both represented in this painting with the big sky and open prairie. Notice also that the sun is positioned to cast short shadows representing high noon on a hot summer day in northern Minnesota. I am sure this scene was played out many times in the 1800's, it was fun to paint while thinking of how it must have been to be alive during those days. This original of this painting is roughly 3'x3.5 and 2'x2' Giclee signed canvas prints of this painting sell for $195.00. Free shipping of course. Email steve@bergerfinearts.com to order.

Bennington Flag Real or Not?

This is another 4'x4' painting for the American Flag series. I did a smaller version of the Bennington flag but I wanted to do a larger one for the collection. The history behind this flag is interesting. The Bennington Flag large '76' makes it easily identifiable as banner from the American Revolution, and it seems every one has seen this flag at one time or another.
A legend claims that the original Bennington Flag was carried off the field by Nathaniel Fillmore and passed down through the Fillmore family, and was, at one time, in the possession of President Millard Fillmore, Nathaniel's grandson. Philetus P. Fillmore flew a Bennington flag in 1877, to commemorate the Battle of Bennington. Mrs. Maude Fillmore Wilson donated the family flag to the Bennington Museum. Because of the family association, the flag is also referred to as the "Fillmore Flag".
Many doubt the actual use of the Fillmore flag at the Battle of Bennington. The flag of John Stark's Green Mountain Boys is generally accepted to have been there, but the Bennington flag has become more strongly associated with the event. Both Stark's flag and the Fillmore flag are held in a collection at the Bennington Museum, but the Stark flag is accepted as an 18th century regimental banner, while the museum has dated the Bennington flag from the 1800s based on the nature of the machine-woven fabric it is made from.The curator of textiles in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of History and Technology speculated that the flag may even have been a centennial banner, made circa 1876. If this is true than this flag is historic but it represnts a different era than what people think it represents. I will go with the Smithsonians observations. 2'x2' Giclee canvas reprints of this artwork are available for $165.00 email steve@bergerfinearts if interested. Free shipping of course.

Minnehaha

This is a painting of the wooden steamboat Minnehaha. This boat was built in 1906 and was powered by steam. It would cruise lake Minnetonka a suburb of Minneapolis all summer long. As personal gas powered boats became popular the ridership of the Minnehaha decreased and the upkeep became to much of a factor to keep the economics of the boat cruising the lake. The decision was made to sink the boat in 1926. She stayed on the bottom until the mid 1990's where she was discovered again and raised from the depths. She was miraculously restored and has been in active passenger service 1996. What a great way to spend an evening on the lake. It may be a little slower but in the middle of summer everything is suppose to slow down.

Broadway Joe

I am adding another sports painting that I recently finished. This one is of Joe Namath. Broadway Joe was a favorite of mine when he played for the Jets not the Rams. I had a chance to meet him on the field when he played for the Rams at the end of his career. This picture pretty well sums up how I remember Joe. Confident and in complete control of his game.

This 12"x18" print will be selling for $150.00 signed. If interested in this print leave a comment with contact information below or email me at steve@bergerfinearts.com and I will get back to you.

Minnesota Twins Country

I had to do this one just for fun. This is not the finished painting but you get the general idea. The image is roughly 26" x 20" and it combines some fun imagery. Like I said in the previous post it is fun to be painting sports again. I hope it shows.

Twins Opening Day Poster

This is a new painting I recently did to celebrate the opening day of the Twins home opener at their new stadium Target Field.

If you notice this year the Twins have three logos in their marketing mix. The circular one shown on the left in the painting is celebrating fifty years of baseball in the Twin Cities. The smaller one in the upper right is celebrating the opening of Target Field. The one in the lower left is the new signage that is in center field of Target Field that shows the twin city dudes shaking hands. And lastly in the bottom right is the original Twins Cities logo. Putting a local Minneapolis hero Joe Mauer in front of the whole bunch is only right. The Twins should be fun to watch this year.

This Giclee print is for sale for $75.00. Email me at steve@bergerfinearts.com. or leave a comment that you are interested with your contact information.

It is actually a lot of fun painting sports figures and events again mostly because I think it has been so long since I painted them. In the early eighties I did a lot of stuff for Viking players and every now and then I will see one of the old guys and say hi to them. Wes Hamilton who was an offensive guard at the time and is still local and has a painting of mine as well as defensive tackle Mark Mullaney. I saw Carl Eller the other day too. There were a few of them. I still have a Fran Tarkenton original that Fran signed. There were some real charachters in the day.