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The Night Before the Battle
186530 1/2 x 44 1/2 in. (77.5 x 113 cm)
James Henry Beard
American (Buffalo, NY, 1811 - 1893, Flushing, NY)
Object Type:
Painting
Medium and Support:
Oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Gift of Dr. Ronald M. Lawrence
Accession Number:
1978.15
James Beard had first-hand experience as a captain in the Union army during the Civil War. This painting, completed in the year the war ended, is a dramatic statement about the ever-present possibility of death on the battlefield.
[Gallery label text, 2007]
Were it not for details like the skeleton keeping vigil behind the cannon, the cruciform composition of the flag draped over the sleeping soldier, and the scattered playing cards suggestive of luck and chance, this painting would be a simple narrative about the Civil War. However, such potent symbolism imbues the work with layers of spiritual significance.
Perhaps the reminders of death and sacrifice that the artist included in his masterful painting emerged from his firsthand experience in the Union Army during the Civil War. The meticulously selected and carefully arranged details attest to the poignancy of the soldiers' situation and contrast with the implied violence that will occur on the morrow.
[Gallery label text]
[Gallery label text, 2007]
Were it not for details like the skeleton keeping vigil behind the cannon, the cruciform composition of the flag draped over the sleeping soldier, and the scattered playing cards suggestive of luck and chance, this painting would be a simple narrative about the Civil War. However, such potent symbolism imbues the work with layers of spiritual significance.
Perhaps the reminders of death and sacrifice that the artist included in his masterful painting emerged from his firsthand experience in the Union Army during the Civil War. The meticulously selected and carefully arranged details attest to the poignancy of the soldiers' situation and contrast with the implied violence that will occur on the morrow.
[Gallery label text]
Marks
Artist's signature, lower left: J. Beard/1865
Provenance
Artist; descended through artist's family; purchased by Terry De Lapp Gallery , Los Angeles, CA, ca. 1978; purchased by Dr. Ronald M. Lawrence, Los Angeles, CA in 1978; given to the Gallery in 1978
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- Masterpieces for Rochester: Acquisitions Since 1975 11/24/1978 - 1/7/1979
- Through the Looking Glass 12/6/1980 - 1/25/1981
- Picturing History: American Painting, 1770-1930 Fraunces Tavern Museum 9/28/1993 - 2/19/1995
- Rave Reviews: One Hundred Years of Great American Art National Academy of Design 9/20/2000 - 12/31/2000
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. New York, New York: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988.
- Article Title: Through the Looking Glass. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Memorial Art Gallery. Gallery Notes. Rochester, New York: Memorial Art Gallery, 1935-1995. Volume Number: 46, Issue Number: 3. Issue Date: November 1980. Page Number: 4, Figure Number: 4
- Maria Naylor, ed. The National Academy of Design Exhibition Record 1861-1900. New York, New York: Kennedy Galleries, Inc., 1973.
- The Civil War Calendar. Harrisburg, PA: Cowles History Group and Hudson Park Press, 1999.
- Docent Newsletter. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery
- American Art Review. Kansas City, MO: Kellaway Pub. Co., 1973-.
- Harold Holzer and Mark E. Neely, Jr.. Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory. New York, New York: Orion Books, 1993.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. William Ayres, ed. Picturing History: American Painting, 1770-1930. New York, NY: Rizzoli International, 1993.
- Grant Holcomb, III, ed. Voices in the Gallery: Writers on Art. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2001.
- Leo Mazow. Picturing the Banjo. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania University Press, 2005.
- Article Author: Daiss, Susan Dodge-Peters. Article Title: James Henry Beard: The Night Before the Battle. Article Scope: Chapter and reproduction. Marjorie B. Searl, ed. Seeing America: painting and sculpture from the collection of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2006. Page Number: 81-84
- Article Title: The Exhibition of the National Academy. Article Scope: Mention. Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization. New York, NY: Harper's Magazine Co. Volume Number: IX, Issue Number: 437. Issue Date: May 13, 1865. Page Number: 291
- Article Author: Nemerov, Alexander. Article Title: The Turn of the Screw and Art History. Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Michael Ann Holly and Marquard Smith. What is Research in the Visual Arts?: Obsession, Archive, Encounter. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2008. Page Number: 25-26, Figure Number: 10
- Article Author: Nemerov, Alexander. Article Title: Seeing Ghosts: "The Turn of the Screw" and Art History. Article Scope: Article. Dr. María del Pilar Blanco, ed. The Spectralities Reader: Ghosts and Haunting in Contemporary Cultural Theory. London, England: Bloomsbury, 2013. Page Number: 541-542, Figure Number: 10
- Article Author: Mawhiney, Kyle. Article Title: The Night Before the Battle. Article Scope: Poetry. Community Voices in the Gallery: a Collection of Writings by Members of our Community Inspired by Works of Art at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2009. Page Number: 8
- Article Author: Nemerov, Alexander. Article Title: John Quidor in hell. Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Volume Number: 73-74 Issue Date: Spring-Autumn 2020. Page Number: 180, Figure Number: 10
- Article Author: Nemerov, Alexander. Article Title: Wilson Bentley's Army of Souls. Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Robert Cozzolino, ed. Supernatural America: The Paranormal in American Art. Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2021. Page Number: 97, 324; plate 6
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios:
Web Links
See links to web pages and lesson plans
Night Before the Battle
Interactive games developed by students from Rochester Institute of Technology based on MAG's painting. Includes links to Civil War primary source material.
Seeing America Inservice
Materials from a teacher in-service presentation Spring 2008
Seeing America
Chapter on James Henry Beard's The Night Before the Battle, written by Susan Dodge-Peters Daiss.
MAGexplore
MAGexplore provides in-depth information and close looking at over 200 objects in MAG's collection.