From The Daily News (NY): Porter pastels depict battlefields of Revolutionary War
GENESEO -- Historians reckon that one-third of all the battles of the American Revolution occurred in New York State.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, artist and Livingston County native J. Erwin Porter embarked on a comprehensive project to paint many of those battlefields in their then-contemporary settings. He visited and painted 22 battle sites.
This collection has never been on display -- until now.
A portion of the historic Porter paintings will be shown at the Lockhart Gallery, 26 Main St., beginning Saturday. The exhibit remains on view until Dec. 3.
An opening reception is sheduled Oct. 29, and will include uniformed members of Sons of the American Revolution. After the Lockhart show, the collection will move to the Livingston Arts Center in Mount Morris.
Livingston County Historian Amie Alden described the paintings as "absolutely gorgeous."
J. Erwin Porter (1903-1981), who lived in Penfield, was raised in Livingston County and graduated from Livonia High School. His career was spent in illustration, art direction, and advertising. He indulged an interest in New York State history and historic sites in his artwork.
His "All along the Erie Canal" series of pastels has been displayed throughout the state, most recently during the World Canal Conference in Rochester in September 2010.
Porter was also celebrated for his illustrations in children's books in the 1920s. His trademark was the sometime inclusion of a small human figure (typically interpreted to be Porter himself) tucked someplace in his painting.
Much of Porter's work has been accepted by the State Museum of New York, through the donations of Porter's son Jon, a Geneseo attorney, and Jon's brothers.
Porter's Revolutionary War battle series has been out of public view since its initial donation.
Stored away in the State Museum for 30 years, all the paintings were in need of some degree of restoration.
Three years of lobbying efforts by Alden, Jon Porter and the Sons of the American Revolution were required to get the museum to surrender the paintings for restoration and public showing. The Sons of the American Revolution have supplied substantial funds for the pastels to be matted and framed. Twelve of the total 22 battle scenes have been prepared for public viewing.
Alden anticipates that the balance of the paintings will be ready for inclusion in the collection by the end of this year.
Included in the collection and exhibit, will be two Livingston County Revolutionary War sites: The Groveland Ambuscade and the Torture Tree in Cuylerville, both named as state and national Historic Sites.
At Groveland, a Continental Army scouting party led by Lt. Thomas Boyd stumbled into, and foiled, an ambush of Gen. Sullivan's entire army, which had been set by Loyalist forces under John Butler and Joseph Brant -- but few of Boyd's party survived. As captives, Boyd and fellow soldier Michael Parker were taken to Little Beard's Town near present-day Cuylerville and, after interrogation by Butler, tortured by the British Seneca allies. Legend has the tortures taking place below the still-standing oak.
The County Historian's Office received funds from the Community Arts Grant program administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts to present the exhibit.
