Julian Scott (1846 - 1901 )

Julian Scott was born in northern Vermont in the town of Johnson. He was one of eight children; his mother was a jeweler, and his father was a watchmaker. At the age of 15, Scott lied about his age and enlisted in the third Vermont army regiment. He was too small to be a soldier and therefore became a drummer. During the battle of White Oak Swamp, Scott was wounded by a mine ball; he was hospitalized at Long Island Sound. At the hospital, Scott sketched scenes of hospital life to pass the time and developed a reputation as an artist. He was noticed by Henry E. Clark, a philanthropist who visited the hospital frequently and supplied Scott with art materials. This was important in his development as an artist.

In the spring of 1863, Scott was discharged from the army on the grounds of disability. He secured enrollment at the National Academy of Design in New York City. While there, Scott received instruction from the prominent artist Emanuel Leutze. Leutze had trained at Düsseldorf, where artists were required to visit the scenes to be painted and to pay careful attention to detail. All of Scott’s drawings were portraits and close-ups of individuals. Even in crowded battle scenes, the soldiers whose faces he painted were often the same people who actually were present at the events depicted.

During the summer of 1866, after the war was over, Scott traveled to Paris. By the time he visited Europe Scott had developed a style of his own. His faithfulness to detail was a result of the influence of his mentor, Emanuel Leutze. In 1870, Scott was accepted as an associate member of the National Academy of Design. This signified his acceptance into an established body of significant American artists.

In 1875, Scott moved from New York City to Plainfield, New Jersey and set up a studio on West Front Street. In 1890, he received a commission from President Harrison to report on the condition of Native Americans in the Southwest during the census survey. For three years, Scott traveled through the west studying Comanche, Navajo, Wichita, Kiowa, and Pueblo Indians. Being both a writer and an artist, he was responsible for 80 percent of the pictures that appeared in the census report. On July 4, 1901, Scott died in Plainfield, New Jersey at the age of 55. He was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Scotch Plains, New Jersey. (IH)

Reference:

Robert J. Titterton, "Meet Plainfield Civil War Artist Julian Scott," Civil War Times Illustrated (Sep/Oct 1991). Available on the web (see link for members.tripod.com below).

The Battle of Cedar Creek

The Battle of Cedar Creek (detail), 1870, 10 x 20 feet, Cedar Creek Room, Vermont State House, Montpelier.

The Drake House Museum in Plainfield, New Jersey has a huge mural by Scott titled “The Death of General Sedgwick.” This painting tells the story of Union troops led by General Sedgwick near the courthouse in Spotsylvania, Virginia in May of 1864. The general was critically wounded during this battle.

In 1870, Scott received a commission from his native state to paint a scene from the Civil War that showed Vermont troops in action. The commission required that he depict the battle that had employed the largest number of Vermont regiments - the 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. This was probably Scott’s most famous painting. Over 200 preliminary sketches were completed, and the final painting measures ten by twenty feet. It hangs in the Cedar Creek Room at the Vermont State House in Montpelier.

Julian Scott’s popularity during his lifetime was fueled by public interest in images of the Civil War. When we look at the images he painted, we find accurate details down to the insignias on the uniforms. Scott painted the people involved in the events as well as the events themselves. He painted in such a manner that viewers can experience the emotions of the people he represented. (IH)

References:

Robert J. Titterton, "Meet Plainfield Civil War Artist Julian Scott," Civil War Times Illustrated (Sep/Oct 1991). Available on the web (see link for members.tripod.com below).

Drake House Museum website: http://drakehousemuseum.tripod.com/id12.html