Pen and ink on paper, 11.5 x 5 in. (sight), framed to 18 x 11.5 in. Inscribed with title and various notations on separate sheet, lower left. After the wartime sketch of Robert K. Sneden (1832-1918), a map-maker for the Union Army, July 1862. Published in
The American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War Art , Catalogue Appendix.
Accomplished in a variety of media, Charles A. Vanderhoof (1853-1918) worked as an etcher, illustrator, and painter before joining the staff of
Harper's Weekly in 1881. He also worked for
Century Magazine throughout the 1880s and contributed several drawings to the publication's
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War series. In addition to his own artistic pursuits, Vanderhoof served as an instructor at the Cooper Union and was active in the formation of the Art Students' League.
The Century Collection of Civil War Art
Lots 103-114
While the photographic process evolved rapidly from its inception in 1839 and the wet plate process of taking photographs was coming into widespread use by the start of the Civil War, it was a cumbersome process in the field as well as the studio. More significantly, at that time the photographs themselves could not be reproduced as illustrations accompanying written reports of the war.
As a result, publishers of newspapers and other periodicals in major cities, primarily in the North, employed a number of sketch artists who traveled with armies to draw the scenes that they witnessed. These sketches, most frequently pencil on paper with brief identifications of people and places, were then sent back by courier to the periodical publishers. The battlefield sketches received by the publishers were then copied by engraving artists onto wooden blocks, which were used in printing presses to illustrate printed articles covering the war.
Unlike the photographers of the day, who were limited to capturing the aftermath of battles, the sketch artists had the advantage of recording what they were witnessing as the events occurred before their eyes.
In the 1880s, the popular
Century Magazine started publishing the narratives of Civil War veterans and retained a large number of sketch artists to illustrate the articles. They used interviews, photographs, and prior war-date sketches to produce accurate pictorial representations of the war. These illustrated accounts were incorporated into a large four-volume work entitled
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War in 1881. Almost a century later, in 1973,
American Heritage Magazine acquired the collection of drawings that had been held by
Century Magazine , which were subsequently reproduced in
The American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War Art published in 1974. Christie's conducted two public auctions in 1988, which were comprised of the remaining original
Century Magazine Collection of Civil War artwork that was dispersed by
American Heritage Magazine , and a number of drawings by noted battlefield artists were acquired by the consignor, with many being offered today.
Condition
Not examined outside frame.