Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1931, Page 73

Rare Painting Brought to Light Here Sold in 1890 for $25,000, This Valuable Civil War Canvas Depicting Gen. Grant and His Twenty-Six Generals, Was Picked Up for Storage Charges in a Warehouse Where : It Lay Buried for Forty Years, and Now Hangs in the Smithsonian Institution. BY RALPH McCABE. FTER 40 years of interment in the darkness of a storage warehouse, a work of art has been exhumed in Washington and for the first time in the 67 years of its existence has assumed the place for which it was originally intended among the historical data of the Nation. The work is a painting of Grant and his 26 generals, completed by Hansen Balling in 1865 in Washington. For 40 years it laid in the building of the Washimgton Safe Deposit Co. on Pennsylvania avenue. Early this Summer, when the advancement of the great Federal building development in the triangle south of the Avenue forced the destruction of the old warehouse, the painting was offered for sale for storage charges. In spite of the great value of the painting— the artist originally received $3,000 for it and it 'was sold the last time in 1890 for $25,000, a lack of sufficient bidders this Summer forced the postponement of the sale three times. Finally it was knocked down at auction for practically nothing when the prices paid for it by previous buyers are considered. The success- ful and only bidder was Mrs. H. Newton Blue of Washington and her first announcement was that the panel was not for sale. With the idea of placing the painting where ft will fulfill the function for which the artist intended it, Mrs. Blue has loaned it to the Smithsonian Institution, where it has been placed in the Hall of American History. The work of “touching up” and restoration was done by C. Calusd, well known artist, who has done much similar work for the Smith- sonian. painting is unique, in that it is the only pictorial record of all the men who led the Union forces under Grant’s command. It represents 27 generals, mounted. The figures are life size and each was made from individual sittings at the height of the campaign against Richmond when Grant was near City Point, Va., in the Fall of 1864. The artist succeeded, letters of military men of the time show, in putting on his canvas the peculiarities of man- ner and dress of each of the officers. He made no effort at idealization. He was commissioned to picture the generals exactly as they were. It took him nearly a year to make all the sketches in the field, riding out with the troops and studying his subjects closely under all con- ditions of warfare. The shades of the uni- forms are exact, the individual complexion true and even the horses shown as they actually were, Balling relying on the brilliancy of the dress for his color. ‘The painting represents no incident that ever eoccurred, yet the action appears in character with the men and their history. Lieut. Gen. Grant is riding rapidly past, attended by his entire staff. The image is caught at the in- stant the leader, supposedly recognizing the THE SUNDAY STAR,v\V?\SHINGTON, D. C, SEPTEMBER 27, 193l Famous painting of Gen. U. S. Grant and his 26 generals. spectator, sweeps off his hat and slightly reins his horse, the famous Egypt which bore him at Vicksburg, while the others surge up behind, around and past him in the colorful disorder of the battlefield. Gen. Sheridan is shown astride the steed on which he made his famous ride to Winchester and Schofield, later Secre- tary of War under President Johnson, is mounted on the horse he rode at Gettysburg. The generals pictured are Ullysses S. Grant, G. K. Warren, Joseph Hooker, George C. Meade, John M. Schofield, who became Secre- tary of War two years later; George H. Thomas, 0. O. Howard, William T. Sherman, J. B. Mc- Pherson, John H. Logan, W. S. Hancock, Hugh J. Kilpatrick, J. A. Mower, J. G. Parke, Thomas C. Devin, G. A. Custer of Little Big Horn fame; Phillip Sheridan, E. O. C. Ward, A. H. Terry, W. H. Emory, John A. Rawlins, who followed Grant after the war and became his Secretary of War; A. E. Burnside, George Crook, Jeffer- son C. Davis, F. P. Blair, Wesley Merritt and Henry W. Slocum. HE painting was originally ordered by Benona Howard, a merchant of New York. Mr. Howard agreed to pay the artist $8,000 for his work. It was intended that the picture would be exhibited throughout the country with the proceeds to be donated to the Sani- tary Commission of the Union Army. How- ever, the death of the merchant before its completion, left the artist with the picture oa his hands, having drawn $3,000 on account while he was working on it. The picture was exhibited in New York in 1866 and later re- turned to Washington, where it was stored in the museum of the Ordnance Bureau in the old Winder Building. In 1886 it was removed “temporarily” to the safe deposit warehouse for protection because of the dilapidated con- dition of the bureau's old building. After ly- ing there four years its existence came to the attention of a New York collector, who, recog- nizing its great historical value, paid $25,000 for it. The new buyer, however, lacked accom- modations for hanging it and allowed it to remain in eclipse in the storage warehouse. There it was forgotten apparently and it was only when the advance of the modern gov- ernment’s needs made new buildings necessary in the Nation’s Capital that the painting again came to light. Three times its sale at auction was advertised and three times the sale was postponed because there was only one bid. The final time, however, the sale had to be held and Mrs. Blue bought the work with- out competition. Balling’s problem in getting the individual portraits which are incorporated into the great painting was a tremendous one. The major units of the Union forces were concentrated in Tidewater Virginia in the final campaign; Sheridan was in the Vailey of Virginia and Sherman in Georgia. Military problems were of prime importance to every man concerned, no officer had a momené to waste in social pursuits or in such unessential pursuits as sit- ting for a painter. Yet Balling accomplished that part of his task in a few months. He was a close friend of Gen. C. T. Chris- tensen and through him made the acquaintance of Gen. John A. Dix, who was one of the greatest art patrons of the time. Early in the Autumn of 1864 Gen. Dix vis- ited the artist’s studio in New York and con- sented to sit for a few minutes for a portrait. There was not a minute to lose. Balling com- menced painting at once, not bothering to make a preliminary sketch. The result so pleased Gen. Dix that he purchased the por- trait on the spot and commissioned Balling to paint one of Grant, and one of President Lincoln for his private collection. The general then introduced the artist to the President and sc warmly praised his work that Lincoln consented to sit if he could do so without interfering with his duties. “How can I possibly take time to give a sitting to you in these busy times, Mr. Ball- ing?” the artist later quoted the President as asking. Balling replied that if the President would allow him to sit for one day in his office while Mr. Lincoln went about his work nothing more would be needed. So early the next morning he appeared at the White House with a small box of water colors for sketching. He placed a chair on one side of the President’s desk and asked that any visitors who might call be seated there so they would not interfere with the artist’'s work. Then, setting up his easel in a corner of the room out of the way, Balling began his study of the President. HE sketch was completed late in the after- noon and the President, enjoying the animation the artist had put into it, auto- graphed it for him. This sketch, after the oil painting had been made from it for Gen. Dix, was later sold for the benefit of the Chicago fire sufferers at an exhibition arranged by tne New York artists. Before Balling left the White House that evening he had obtained from the President what the latter described as the “shortest in- troduction” on record. It read: “Allow the bearer, Mr. Balling, to pass to Gen. Grant, to whom he is hereby introduced.” Balling arrived at Grant’s headquarters at City Point 36 hours later. The general re- ceived him cordially in his tent and discussed the idea of the painting for a few minutes. “As you are going to paint us on horscback, you had better see my horses,” Grant said, and directed an orderly to bring them up. He then introduced the three animals, Jeff Davis, which was taken from the estate of the president of the Confederate States during the siege of Vicksburg; Cincinnati, his favorite trotter, and the colorful Egypt, his favorite. “Which do you want to use?” asked Grant. Balling chose Egypt and Grant ordered his entire staff to mount for a ride to the forward lines for the benefit of the artist. They took the road toward Richmond and Balling, Si mounted on Jeff Davis, put in a strenuous day studying his subjects. At every opportunity he rode out to one side of the commander’s escort, taking a position as far ahead of the group as possible and scrutinizing them closely as they galloped past. Grant wore his famous slouch hat, his coat was unbuttoned and his legs were encased in a huge pair of boots pre- sented to him by a New York bootmaker who had not known the General's stature. The boots reached above his knees and were one of the stock jokes of the headquarters. For five weeks Balling lived with the troops at City Point. He found time while there to sketch many of the important visitors, includ- ing Seevetary Stanton and Secretary Seward. He found Grant a very unusual personality. Up at reveille, the commander of the army did much of his work after taps and kept orderlies on duty long after midnight, while he dis- patched messages or worked over the problems of the campaign. In that day, the artist wrote many years later, he was surprised to find that there was not a drop of liquor in the camp. “How could I permit a drop around,” Grant laughed when he was asked about it, “with all the slander I have received?” THE study of the subjects for his great painte ing was carried on in the height of battle, as the artist's diary shows. “On the 18th of October,” he wrote, “we were roused unusually early for breakfast. Grant ate rapidly a few fried oysters and said to me: ‘Would you like to make a trip with us this morning up the river?” I said, ‘Of course.’ ‘Well, get your boots on then, we’re going soon.” We were soon aboard the steamer, which was a Staten Island ferry boat. As we moved .up the James River I noticed tha general sitting alone in the sun smoking. The general proved talkative that morning. In short he talked so much, unconcerned and pleasantly, that I got courage to put forth a little humor, and at a pause said: ‘General, you seem in such a good humor this morning that I would like to ask you a great favor.’ He smiled and said: ‘What do you want?’ ] wish, general, that you would have the kind- ness to take Richmond while I am with you?" His expression became very serious when he answered, ‘well, sir, who knows, a great battle has been going on since three o'clock this morning. We will soon hear the gumns.’ “My surprise continued to grow as he told me the very orders he had sent the evening before to Meade and Hancock. We now heard the guns in the distance. i “‘I am now going to Deepbottom,’ he said, ‘and I am going to take command of the right wing. I hope at least we will be nearer Rich- mond fonight’ He lighted a new cigar and I dared not break his silence. “‘Butler commands the right wing,’ he we- Continued on Fifteenth Page.