Icons of the American Civil War:
A collection of portraits by artist Marc-Anthony Massaro
In 2012 portrait artist Marc-Anthony Massaro began the monumental project of creating a series of life size oil portraits which he titled: Icons of the American Civil War. The inspiration for the project came about while the artist was researching uniforms for a series of sculptures of civil war soldiers he was in the process of creating.
“During the research for my sculptural work I found myself continually distracted by the extraordinary character in the faces of both Presidents Lincoln and Davis, the union and confederate generals, and most of all, the stern and ever so determined expression on the face of Frederick Douglas.
I recall curiously examining a Mathew Brady photograph of General William Tecumseh Sherman and wondering what he must have looked like sitting there in Brady’s studio in his dark blue uniform, shining brass buttons, unruly red hair and a face that had every battle he fought etched into it.
But in that era all that existed in photography was the black and white image. All I could do was imagine what all of these historic Americans must have looked like in life. I thought to myself how interesting a challenge it would be for me as an artist to use these photographs as a reference for life size oil portraits in full color. It opened a whole other avenue of research for me. I soon became obsessed with imagining these men in real life; what color were their eyes, their hair, and the tones of their complexions? I needed to bring these giants of American history to life through the painted image.”
Contained in this portfolio are the images of these great Americans seen through the eyes of the artist. They are all painted in oils, on canvas and framed in museum quality frames. This series of exquisitely executed, historically accurate portraiture is available for purchase. The portraits are not available for individual purchase, but intended as a set.
For information regarding the purchase of Icons of the American Civil War please contact the artist at his studio:
marc@branfordartstudio.com telephone; (203) 488 2787 or write to the artist care of:
Branford Art Studio 483 East Main St. Branford Connecticut 06405
“During the research for my sculptural work I found myself continually distracted by the extraordinary character in the faces of both Presidents Lincoln and Davis, the union and confederate generals, and most of all, the stern and ever so determined expression on the face of Frederick Douglas.
I recall curiously examining a Mathew Brady photograph of General William Tecumseh Sherman and wondering what he must have looked like sitting there in Brady’s studio in his dark blue uniform, shining brass buttons, unruly red hair and a face that had every battle he fought etched into it.
But in that era all that existed in photography was the black and white image. All I could do was imagine what all of these historic Americans must have looked like in life. I thought to myself how interesting a challenge it would be for me as an artist to use these photographs as a reference for life size oil portraits in full color. It opened a whole other avenue of research for me. I soon became obsessed with imagining these men in real life; what color were their eyes, their hair, and the tones of their complexions? I needed to bring these giants of American history to life through the painted image.”
Contained in this portfolio are the images of these great Americans seen through the eyes of the artist. They are all painted in oils, on canvas and framed in museum quality frames. This series of exquisitely executed, historically accurate portraiture is available for purchase. The portraits are not available for individual purchase, but intended as a set.
For information regarding the purchase of Icons of the American Civil War please contact the artist at his studio:
marc@branfordartstudio.com telephone; (203) 488 2787 or write to the artist care of:
Branford Art Studio 483 East Main St. Branford Connecticut 06405
All paintings are oil on canvas.