FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2010

Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection
Exhibition of eyewitness drawings of the American Civil War opens January

An exhibition of rarely seen first-hand drawings that document the Civil War
will open at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Richmond
Museums on January 15, 2011.  These unique sketches, once thought to have been
lost, will be on view at both venues until April 3, 2011.

The exhibition is drawn from the Becker Collection, which consists of more
than 650 original drawings.  The collection is the largest private collection
of Civil War drawings, second only in scale to that of the Library of Congress.

Serving as artist-reporters for mid-19th-century America's leading illustrated
periodical, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Joseph Becker and his
colleagues met the public appetite for visual images of the unfolding Civil
War by sending to the New York journal eyewitness drawings of all facets of
military life. Together, they documented nearly every major battle of the
Civil War, many in Virginia. At a time when photography could depict only
staged or still moments, these so-called Special Artists risked their lives to
record live-action events that were then translated into engravings and
printed in newspapers.

"The Becker Collection is a national treasure that testifies to the
significant role these artists played in the development of American art and
journalism," says Alex Nyerges, Director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
"This exhibition will be a boon to scholars and the public alike, as it gives
viewers the rare chance to see how artists were eye-witnesses to history as it
was happening."

Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection will highlight 90 "on-the-spot"
drawings and coincides with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the
Civil War. Approximately half of the drawings will be on view at the Virginia
Museum of Fine Arts and half will be presented at the Joel and Lila Harnett
Museum of Art and Print Study Center, University of Richmond.

About the Art
The drawings in the Becker Collection, produced by about 14 known
artist-reporters, document soldiers in quieter moments of the conflict: at
rest, washing their clothes, foraging for food, celebrating Thanksgiving,
butchering and dressing cattle, moving material, buildings levees, and setting
up camp. Yet the collection also poignantly records the more frantic and
gruesome times: soldiers thrust into the chaos of battle, exhuming bodies from
graves, executing deserters, humiliating cowards, and reading last rites to
fallen brothers in the midst of carnage.

Joseph Becker and his fellow Special Artists were not simply casual witnesses
and recorders of these events, but experienced the anguish and suffering of
the Civil War while embedded with the Union Army.  Henri Lovie, another
artist-reporter, created a series of drawings entitled "Adventures of a
Special Artist" that provides an idea of the tribulations he and his
colleagues endured.  In one drawing he is shown wading through chest-high
snow, suggesting the kind of fortitude required by the job.

About the Becker Collection
After the Civil War ended, Joseph Becker managed the art department of Frank
Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper for nearly 25 years. When he left Leslie's he
took with him the nearly 700 original drawings that now form the Becker
Collection. Many of these works would have been destroyed after serving their
purpose as the basis for engravings published in the paper. Others were never
chosen for publication and would have vanished, unrecorded.  Instead, they
were passed down through Becker's family for several generations.

The Becker Collection is renowned not solely for its sheer size, but also for
its enlightening accuracy.  Inevitably, in the process of translating the
artists' drawings to engravings, the original images were changed. These
changes were not only technical, but were made in response to the whims of the
editors, who wanted to appeal to 100,000-odd weekly readers throughout
America. In contrast, the original drawings serve as more accurate and
detailed images, ripe with human feeling.

Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection is curated by Judith Bookbinder
and Sheila Gallagher and the traveling exhibition is organized by Curatorial
Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California. Drawings from the
Becker Collection premiered at the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College in
the exhibition First Hand: Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection,
which was organized by the McMullen Museum and underwritten by Boston College
and Patrons of the McMullen Museum. The exhibition and tour will serve to
introduce this important collection to viewers with both an academic and
general interest in the Civil War.

About the Exhibition

 *   TITLE: Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection
 *   ORGANIZER: Traveling exhibition organized by Curatorial Assistance
Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California. Drawings from the Becker
Collection premiered at the McMullen Museum at Boston College in the
exhibition First Hand: Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection, which
was organized by the McMullen Museum and underwritten by Boston College and
Patrons of the McMullen Museum.
 *   LOCATION: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Focus Galleries (Alice and Bill
Goodwin Gallery and Frederick Deane, Jr. Gallery) and the Harnett Museum of
Art and Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums.
 *   DATES: January 15, 2011 - April 3, 2011
 *   CURATOR: Judith Bookbinder, part-time faculty, and Sheila Gallagher,
Assistant Professor, Fine Arts Department, Boston College
 *   VMFA COORDINATOR: Sylvia Yount, Chief Curator and Louise B. and J.
Harwood, Cochrane Curator of American Art
 *   UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND MUSEUMS COORDINATOR: Richard Waller, Executive
Director, University Museums
 *   ITINERARY: Previously at McMullen Museum of Art, traveling to
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, New Hampshire, prior to
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the University of Richmond Museums
 *   NUMBER OF WORKS: 90
 *   ADMISSION: Free
 *   CATALOG: "First Hand: Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection,"
edited by Judith Bookbinder and Sheila Gallagher; paperback; 274 pages with
118 color plates; $50

About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
With a collection of art that spans the globe and more than 5,000 years, plus
a wide array of special exhibitions, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
is recognized as one of the top comprehensive art museums in the United
States. The museum's permanent collection encompasses more than 22,000 works
of art, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside Russia and
one of the nation's finest collections of American art. VMFA is home to
acclaimed collections of English Silver and Impressionist, Post-Impressionist,
British Sporting and Contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian,
Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public
after a transformative expansion, the largest in its 74-year history. Programs
include educational activities and studio classes for all ages, plus fun
after-hours events. VMFA's Statewide Partnership program includes traveling
exhibitions, artist and teacher workshops, and lectures across the
Commonwealth. General admission is always free. For additional information,
telephone 804-340-1400 or visit www.vmfa.museum  .

About the University of Richmond Museums
The University of Richmond Museums comprise the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum
of Art, the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, and the Lora Robins
Gallery of Design from Nature.  The museums are home to diverse and
fascinating collections and exhibitions of art, artifacts, and natural history
specimens.  Highlights of the collection include a wide selection of Virginia
minerals, a 2,400-carat blue topaz from Brazil, a 165 million year old fossil
of an Ichthyosaurus, as well as a vast array of contemporary art, sculpture,
and prints. The museums regularly present exhibitions, lectures, openings,
gallery talks, workshops, concerts, symposia, and other programs. Admission to
all museums is free and open to the public. For more information, telephone
804-289-8276 or visit museums.richmond.edu.

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Press Contacts:
Suzanne Hall, suzanne.hall@vmfa.museum, 804.204.2704
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond VA 23220-4007

Heather Campbell, hcampbel@richmond.edu, 804.287.6324
University of Richmond Museums, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, VA 23173