Emblems of the Civil War

Alexander Pope

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

Twenty years after the Civil War, a rising wave of curiosity and nostalgia accompanied the gradual passing of a generation of veterans. Memorial still lifes—which recorded actual objects related to the war in artificial, ceremonial arrangements—revived the lessons of the conflict while suggesting its gradual recession into the past. Alexander Pope here arranged the military mementos of Major General William Tibbits (died 1880), of the Union army’s Second New York Cavalry. They include a Confederate bullet on a string and a key to Libby Prison, a site of Confederate atrocities.

Caption

Alexander Pope American, 1849–1924. Emblems of the Civil War, 1888. Oil on canvas, 54 3/16 × 51 1/8 in. (137.6 × 129.8 cm) frame: 66 11/16 × 63 5/8 × 2 3/4 in. (169.4 × 161.6 × 7 cm) frame: 62 × 65 × 1 1/4 in. (157.5 × 165.1 × 3.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors, 66.5. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.5_PS2.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

Emblems of the Civil War

Date

1888

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

54 3/16 × 51 1/8 in. (137.6 × 129.8 cm) frame: 66 11/16 × 63 5/8 × 2 3/4 in. (169.4 × 161.6 × 7 cm) frame: 62 × 65 × 1 1/4 in. (157.5 × 165.1 × 3.2 cm)

Signatures

Signed lower right: "ALEX--POPE--88 / --BOSTON--"

Inscriptions

Inscribed on calling card lower left: "Mr. Alexander Pope"

Credit Line

Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors

Accession Number

66.5

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

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Frequent Art Questions

  • This looks so real.

    Alexander Pope was known during his lifetime for his paintings of animals and game birds, but he is remembered today for his group of trompe-I'oeil "trophy" paintings.
    "Trompe l'oeil" means "fool the eye." He painted these objects in an illusionistic manner -- they look very real, almost as though we could touch them. Look closely at some of the details and textures!
    He may have been thinking of the tradition of hanging memorabilia of the Civil War in one's home -- the weapons and possessions of family members who fought in the conflict.
  • Tell me more about this.

    What a detail! This collection of objects stands in as a portrait of their owner, a soldier for the Union, or the North, in the US Civil War.
    The key is labeled "Libby Prison," a Confederate prison that was in Richmond Virginia that was the site of wartime atrocities. This key was presented to Major General William B. Tibbits, whose family commissioned this painting, as a memento by Union General Daniel Sickles.
    Cool! Thanks!
    You're welcome!

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