BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 21, 2003 – Internationally acclaimed historical painter Mort Künstler, the official artist for the movie Gods and Generals, will visit Virginia Tech on Saturday, March 1, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center (DBH&CC) main dining room to sign prints and books. Künstler will be joined by James I. Robertson Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor of history at Tech and executive director of the university's Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, in signing copies of their newly released book Gods and Generals.
The two will also take orders for a Virginia Tech limited edition of their collaborative work, a leather-bound, gilt-edged edition of Gods and Generals, and a print of a new Künstler painting of Stonewall Jackson, "Divine Guidance," signed and numbered by the artist. Proceeds from the sale of this one-time, individualized set will support programs of the Civil War center.
"Virginia Tech's Virginia Center for Civil War Studies is fortunate in having a friend and supporter in Mort Künstler, and we are honored by his visit," Robertson said. Robertson was the principal historical consultant for the Gods and Generals movie.
In 2000, Künstler issued a Virginia Tech limited edition of his painting "The Winds of Winter: Jackson's Romney Campaign January 1862" and donated proceeds to the Civil War center.
Since he began painting, Künstler has developed a reputation for historically accurate work. His painting "The High Water Mark," unveiled at the Gettysburg National Military Park in 1988 on the 125th anniversary of the Civil War battle, is considered the most accurate painting ever done of the event. In 1992, the U. S. Postal Service commissioned him to do a painting of the Buffalo Soldiers and issued a stamp of the painting two years later.
In addition to prints of his Civil War paintings, he has issued several books in recent years about the period, collaborating with Robertson on three. In addition to Gods and Generals, the two Civil War experts worked together on The Confederate Spirit and Jackson & Lee: Legends in Gray, with Künstler supplying the paintings and Robertson the text.
Robertson is a noted Civil War expert and author who appears frequently on public television, A&E, and the History Channel. He has a regular program on public radio and is a guest speaker for Civil War roundtables throughout the country. Ron Maxwell, director and screenwriter of Gods and Generals, based the role of Stonewall Jackson in the movie on Robertson's biography Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend.
For additional information, contact Robertson at (540)552-0760 or Paula McElvoy at Künstler Enterprises, Inc. at (516)922-6760.