Mort Kunstler's "Magnolia Morning"
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"Moonlight and Magnolias"
A stolen kiss! A farewell and a proposal of marriage at the Secession Ball when the world and the Confederacy were young! These were the ideas that flashed through my head when I first saw Arlington Plantation on Lake Providence in the northeastern corner of Louisiana. I was contacted by Sam Wyly, who along with his daughter, Kelly, came to my studio last March to ask if I would be interested in creating a Civil War painting incorporating his ancestral home, Arlington Plantation. After seeing photographs of the house, I realized this was a perfect Southern mansion from the antebellum era. I immediately saw the possibilities for an unusual painting. I traveled to Lake Providence to explore the building and learn as much about the area as was possible. Arlington Plantation was originally built as a single-story house in 1832 for Mrs. T.R. Patten. It was later raised and made into a two-story manor house by Edward Sparrow, Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs for the Confederacy, who voted for secession in Baton Rouge on January 26, 1861. The house is now occupied by Steve and Flo Guenard, direct descendants of Sparrow, who have maintained it in beautiful condition and are continuing a very successful program of restoration. They were most gracious hosts and knew much of the history of the building. To this day, Sparrow Road in Providence leads to Arlington Plantation. On Saturday, April 6, a grand ball was held at Arlington Plantation and people from as far as Baton Rouge and New Orleans attended. Here was my idea! What a great way to use the warm glow of the lights and Japanese lanterns so popular in that era to contrast the cool moonlight outside. The center flag hanging from the upstairs porch rail is The First National Flag of the Confederacy. On the right is the Pelican Flag of Louisiana before secession. On the left is the Louisiana state flag adopted on February 11, 1861. It had thirteen stripes but alternated the colors of blue, white and red, to reflect its original ties to France. The canton of the flag had a large single yellow star on a field of red to show its early origins with Spain. At this time, Louisiana troops were among the best equipped and uniformed in the Confederacy. There was still no standardization and there were as many blue coated Confederates in Louisiana as grey clad ones. Some regiments had as many as ten different uniforms.
On the extreme left, a 1st Lieutenant of Louisiana Zouaves chats with his wife. At this point, the war had not yet begun and in everyone's mind was a quick victory and a new nation all glory and honor. The realities and horror of the war would follow. The next couple, to the right of the flower arrangement resting on the column, shows a former U.S. Naval Commander in full dress uniform. He has resigned his commission and awaits assignment to the Louisiana or Confederate Navy. He and his wife in the golden dress are the only ones at the party that spot the stolen kiss and smile knowingly. In the center, with the woman in the violet dress, is a 1st Lieutenant of the C.S. Marines, a corps that received little recognition during the war. Further to the right we see a sergeant of the Washington Artillery, from New Orleans, chatting with his wife and their three children. The situation gave me a rare chance to depict a bit of antebellum life with an excellent opportunity to show all the different types of uniforms that caused so much confusion in the early months of the war. The lighting effects and the beautifully dressed men and women make for a sparkling array of glamour and pageantry. That would all change as the war would grind on to its inevitable conclusion of destruction and grief. Two years later, Grant would come down the Mississippi and spend more than two months trying to cut a canal from the river to Lake Providence, and gain access to the Red River. This would have allowed the Union army to re-enter the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. Union officers who would use Arlington Plantation as their headquarters included Macpherson, McMillan and MacArthur. Grant would visit the house as well. Needless to say, life at Arlington Plantation would never be the same.
Click here to order "Moonlight and Magnolias", your Limited Edition signed and numbered print by Mort Kunstler.
"Magnolia Morning"
It was the morning of great dreams and the day of high hopes. The night before, a gala ball had celebrated Southern nationhood, and had honored the men in gray who would go to war the next day. Hours later, as the soft morning light bathed a new day, it was time for goodbyes.
Now, young men in new uniforms shared farewells with loved ones. It was a bittersweet moment: departure was difficult, but ahead awaited glory, honor and the fortunes of war. It was a scene reenacted throughout America - both in the North and the South. Soon, however, the romance of the moment would disappear. Ahead lay the realities of war. More than 5,000 would fall at First Manassas. Another 23,000 would be lost at Sharpsburg, and more than 50,000 would become casualties of war at Gettysburg.
For the present, however, Americans were basking in a patriotic glow. The young men of the North were preparing to fight for the Union. Southerners were rushing to arms to defend their homeland. The ball was over, and ahead lay the wages of war. Yet, in the fleeting softness of a new day and the gentle squeeze of a tender embrace, there was a brief and shining moment that would be remembered always.
Mort Künstler's Comments
Four years ago in 1997, my limited edition print, Moonlight & Magnolias was released. The large edition sold out almost immediately and became one of my most popular prints. Since then, many have asked when I would paint a similar work. In response, I decided to do a sequel to Moonlight and Magnolias, which was set at a secession ball at Arlington plantation near Providence, Louisiana.
The day after the ball provides a wonderful scene. It is the morning of April 7, 1861. In contrast to the moonlight of the first picture, I painted bright sunlight. The guests are leaving Arlington Plantation, so their carriages are seen waiting. The women are fashionably attired in their day dresses, just as they were properly dressed in their beautiful gowns the night before. The men are wearing their new uniforms and are preparing to leave for war. The same flags that were displayed at the ball - Louisiana flags and the Confederate first national flag - are still hanging from the upstairs railing of the plantation house. I purposely placed the house at a different angle, and it, of course, looks magnificent from any point of view.
By combining the blooming azaleas and magnolias, the bright sunlight and the blue sky with puffy white clouds, I felt I could capture the optimistic feelings of that time. I chose to emphasize the theme of high hopes and departures by painting the presentation of a going-away gift as a central focus.
Of course, reality would set in - the white clouds would symbolically become the dark clouds of war - and life at Arlington Plantation would become a test of wartime endurance. At the moment, however, these southerners - like their counterparts in the North - were excited and enthralled with the romantic notion of war. This was the reality of the war in April of 1861, and it would prove to be an unforgettable but brief moment in a long, hard conflict.
Click here to order "Magnolia Morning", your Limited Edition signed and numbered print by Mort Kunstler.
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