Larry Rivers
The Last Civil War Veteran
1961
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Larry Rivers
The Last Civil War Veteran
1961
Physical Qualities
Graphite, crayon, and white opaque watercolor with collage elements, Sheet: 252 x 203 mm. (9 15/16 x 8 in.)
Credit Line
Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection
Object Number
1961.261
In 1960, the last surviving Civil War veteran died at the age of 116, providing the impetus for a Life magazine tribute that, in turn, inspired this drawing. Rivers saw the article and the accompanying photograph of the soldier lying in state and extrapolated aspects of the image for this composition, obscuring certain details to heighten the mystery of the setting. The faces and bodies (including that of the guard standing watch over the
casket) are loosely rendered, suggesting a faded memory comprised of interlocking fragments. In the context of the civil rights movement and social transformation of the 1960s, one can imagine how Rivers was captivated by this historic death, which put into perspective two pivotal periods in American history, and those few whose lives intersected them both.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1961; Mr. Edward Benesch, NY, November 29, 1061; Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY
BMA, "Recent Accessions to the Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 30 October - 16 December 1962.
BMA, "Drawings: 1920-1964," 24 November 1963 - 21 February 1964.
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, "Larry Rivers," Rose Art Museum, 10 April 1965 - 20 February 1966; Pasadena Art Museum, 10 August - 5 September 1965; Jewish Museum, 23 September - 31 October 1965; Detroit Institute of Arts, 17 November - 26 December 1965; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 20 January - 20 February 1966, cat. 126, p. 53.
Victor Carlson (organized and circulated by the BMA), "19th and 20th Century Prints and Drawings from The Baltimore Museum of Art." E.B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, November 3 - December 2, 1973; Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, January 18 - February 17, 1974; The William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, April 2 - April 21, 1974, cat. 59.
Victor Carlson and Carol Hynning Smith, BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"; circulated by the American Federation of Arts to the Guggenheim Museum, NY, 24 August - 7 October 1979; Des Moines Art Center, 19 November 1979 - 6 January 1980; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 8 February - 16 March, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 May - 22 June 1980 ; Denver Art Museum, 12 July - 24 August, 1980.
BMA, "Drawings from the Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 14 October - 12 December 1982.
BMA, "Figure Drawings from the Museum's Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 21 July - 27 September 1987.
BMA, "Modern Master Drawings from the Museum's Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 21 February - 30 April 1989.
BMA, "Making the Decades: Drawings 1960-1990," 5 February - 19 April, 1992.
BMA, "Select Views: Drawings from the Benesch Collection," 21 May - 30 July 2006.
BMA, "Drawings: 1920-1964," 24 November 1963 - 21 February 1964.
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, "Larry Rivers," Rose Art Museum, 10 April 1965 - 20 February 1966; Pasadena Art Museum, 10 August - 5 September 1965; Jewish Museum, 23 September - 31 October 1965; Detroit Institute of Arts, 17 November - 26 December 1965; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 20 January - 20 February 1966, cat. 126, p. 53.
Victor Carlson (organized and circulated by the BMA), "19th and 20th Century Prints and Drawings from The Baltimore Museum of Art." E.B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, November 3 - December 2, 1973; Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, January 18 - February 17, 1974; The William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, April 2 - April 21, 1974, cat. 59.
Victor Carlson and Carol Hynning Smith, BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"; circulated by the American Federation of Arts to the Guggenheim Museum, NY, 24 August - 7 October 1979; Des Moines Art Center, 19 November 1979 - 6 January 1980; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 8 February - 16 March, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 May - 22 June 1980 ; Denver Art Museum, 12 July - 24 August, 1980.
BMA, "Drawings from the Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 14 October - 12 December 1982.
BMA, "Figure Drawings from the Museum's Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 21 July - 27 September 1987.
BMA, "Modern Master Drawings from the Museum's Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 21 February - 30 April 1989.
BMA, "Making the Decades: Drawings 1960-1990," 5 February - 19 April, 1992.
BMA, "Select Views: Drawings from the Benesch Collection," 21 May - 30 July 2006.
BMA News, vol. XXIX, nos. 3-4, 1967, p. 14 (illus. p. 17).
"The Thomas Edward Benesch Memorial Collection," BMA, 1970, unpaginated.
Sam Hunter, "Larry Rivers," NY: 1970, illus. pl. 15 p. 33.
Clint Brown and Cheryl McLean, "Drawing from Life" (textbook), NY: Harcourt Brace, 1992, illus. p. 6.
Sandy Brooke, "Hooked on Drawing!: Illustrated Lessons and Exercises for Grades 4 and Up" (textbook), Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996, illus. p. 224.
Carlson, Victor, and Carol Hynning Smith. Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: The Baltimore Museum of Art. New York, NY: The American Federation of Arts, 1979, pp. 167, ill.
Inscribed: lower right in graphite: "Rivers '61"
