Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object |
Painting |
Title |
The Battle of Bennington |
Artist/Creator |
Moses, Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) |
Date |
1953 |
Description |
Oil on pressed wood painting by Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses titled "The Battle of Bennington." 1953. Kallir #1100. Large scale with many clusters of people in uniform and single people. Hill in center of landscape has cleared and tall flagpole with early American flag with red and white stripes and Union Jack in upper left. Other flags scattered around. Bennington Battle Monument on right side in distance, reflected in river below. Covered bridge and several small buildings in foreground. Small group of men appear to be carrying the mortally wounded Col. Baum and Pfister in lower right. |
Width (inches) |
30.000 |
Height (inches) |
18.000 |
Subjects |
Bennington, Battle of, N.Y., 1777 |
Information |
Moses’ "Battle of Bennington" was commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution. This first version was rejected by the DAR for not being historically accurate. Moses’ depiction of the battle, fought on August 16, 1777, only a few miles from where the artist lived most of her life, features a landscape of rolling hills abuzz with the activity of dozens of soldiers. While Moses was deeply interested in the past, especially local history, her historical images tend to rely more on hearsay, memory, and personal association than well-documented historical fact. Moses borrowed the figures carrying two wounded soldiers in the lower right of her composition from LeRoy Williams’ painting Col. Baum and Col. Pfister Mortally Wounded, currently on display in the museum’s Military Gallery, indicating she did research the battle. However, in an interview with Edward R. Murrow (playing on the screen to your far right) the artist explained why she included the battle monument in the painting (upper right), despite the fact that it wasn’t built for more than a century after the battle: "Well, I put the monument in because it looked good, I guess." |
Related People |
Moses, Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma) |
Credit line |
Gift of Carol and Arnold Haynes |
Copyright owner |
Copyright © Grandma Moses Properties, New York |
Catalog Number |
2014.40 |