CUSTERS LAST RALLYMy wife and I had tickets to attend the Las Vegas PBS Antiques Road Show. We were interviewed & selected to appear on the PBS Internet Site and also selected for an appearance on the Televised Roadshow. (Left: Scene from televised interview). Click here for behind the scenes photographs from the Roadshow.
I will be adding additional photographs in the near future. I was interviewed on-air by Christopher Lane below ~
Click on link below to watch a video of the televised interview in another window ~
................... Watch televised video
If the Video doesn't play because of your current installed media player, below is a transcript of the interview;
Appraised By:
Christopher Lane
Prints & Posters
Co-Owner
The Philadelphia Print Shop
Prints & Posters
Co-Owner
The Philadelphia Print Shop
Transcript of On-Air Interview
APPRAISER: You brought in this rather gory, dramatic scene with a very familiar figure in the middle, George Custer here. Tell me where you got it.
MYSELF: My wife and I, we were down at a flea market. And I saw it laying there actually on the ground and I walked by it. And I asked the guy how much he wanted for it. And, uh, he told me and I thought about it. And then I forgot about it and went home. And the rest of that night I was saying, "Why did I do that? I should've bought it." And, so what happened was my wife ended up buying it and she hid it for four months underneath the bed. So, uh...
APPRAISER: Then gave it to you?
MYSELF: And then-- for my birthday. It's been over my desk for about 15, 17 years. It's just an interesting subject.
APPRAISER: You know quite a bit about it. Why don't you tell me what you know about it?
MYSELF: I believe the correct title is “Custer's Last Rally.” The artist was John Mulvany. And this was done in 1881. The date is right down here in the corner. The original oil painting was a very large size. It actually ended up touring the country for quite a while. And I believe that painting still exists and is in a museum. And from what I understand,
Mulvany died pretty penniless. That was his masterpiece of his career. And other than that, that's pretty much what I know.
APPRAISER: That's quite a bit. It's “Custer's Last Rally,” and, of course, it does show the scene of what's often called "Custer's last stand." And Mulvany, he was an Irish immigrant who came over and did some sketching during the Civil War, and after the Civil War moved out West and got very interested in this battle. And actually went to the battlefield to sketch the terrain, interviewed some of the survivors to get the uniforms right. He talked to some of the Indians to find out what happened, and tried to do this as accurately as possible. I believe it's 11x20. Made a huge impact. Now, it was hard for artists in the late 19th century to make money. So what they often did was they did tour.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: And they took it all around the United States, and would charge admission for people to come in and see. And because that only made him so much money, he decided to have a print made of it.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: That was the painting that was done in 1881. This print here does have a copyright on it, but it doesn't have a date. It was done in Chicago by the Chicago Lithograph and Engraving Company, probably not too long afterwards, probably 1882, 1883. This is done by the process of chromolithography. And chromolithography
was used because it was a way that they could duplicate as closely as possible the original oil. They kept putting on the colors and that gave it a richness and a texture that made it look like the original painting.
MYSELF: I see.
APPRAISER: Now, 'cause every color was put on with a separate stone, you had to line up the stones exactly right. And so what these are, is they are the register marks that they used to line up the stone so it would print properly and wouldn't be fuzzy. It's actually a very good quality chromolithograph. They would have done a fair number; nobody knows how many. But it's very rare. In fact, this is the first one I've ever seen in person.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: I've never had it for sale. I've never seen it sold.
MYSELF: Wow.
APPRAISER: Now, what did you pay for it? Or your wife when she bought it?
MYSELF: Well, she told me she paid $225.
APPRAISER: Well, it is not in great condition. You've got the stains from the wood slats at the back. Where the wood slats meet, acid comes out and burns the paper. You also have a tear over on that side.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: If you spent maybe $300, $400 on that, it would up the price to another thousand dollars.
MYSELF: Really? Well, I've enjoyed it.
APPRAISER: Good.
MYSELF: And I'm really glad we brought it down.
APPRAISER: I'm glad your wife got it for you.
MYSELF (chuckles): So am I.
MYSELF: My wife and I, we were down at a flea market. And I saw it laying there actually on the ground and I walked by it. And I asked the guy how much he wanted for it. And, uh, he told me and I thought about it. And then I forgot about it and went home. And the rest of that night I was saying, "Why did I do that? I should've bought it." And, so what happened was my wife ended up buying it and she hid it for four months underneath the bed. So, uh...
APPRAISER: Then gave it to you?
MYSELF: And then-- for my birthday. It's been over my desk for about 15, 17 years. It's just an interesting subject.
APPRAISER: You know quite a bit about it. Why don't you tell me what you know about it?
MYSELF: I believe the correct title is “Custer's Last Rally.” The artist was John Mulvany. And this was done in 1881. The date is right down here in the corner. The original oil painting was a very large size. It actually ended up touring the country for quite a while. And I believe that painting still exists and is in a museum. And from what I understand,
Mulvany died pretty penniless. That was his masterpiece of his career. And other than that, that's pretty much what I know.
APPRAISER: That's quite a bit. It's “Custer's Last Rally,” and, of course, it does show the scene of what's often called "Custer's last stand." And Mulvany, he was an Irish immigrant who came over and did some sketching during the Civil War, and after the Civil War moved out West and got very interested in this battle. And actually went to the battlefield to sketch the terrain, interviewed some of the survivors to get the uniforms right. He talked to some of the Indians to find out what happened, and tried to do this as accurately as possible. I believe it's 11x20. Made a huge impact. Now, it was hard for artists in the late 19th century to make money. So what they often did was they did tour.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: And they took it all around the United States, and would charge admission for people to come in and see. And because that only made him so much money, he decided to have a print made of it.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: That was the painting that was done in 1881. This print here does have a copyright on it, but it doesn't have a date. It was done in Chicago by the Chicago Lithograph and Engraving Company, probably not too long afterwards, probably 1882, 1883. This is done by the process of chromolithography. And chromolithography
was used because it was a way that they could duplicate as closely as possible the original oil. They kept putting on the colors and that gave it a richness and a texture that made it look like the original painting.
MYSELF: I see.
APPRAISER: Now, 'cause every color was put on with a separate stone, you had to line up the stones exactly right. And so what these are, is they are the register marks that they used to line up the stone so it would print properly and wouldn't be fuzzy. It's actually a very good quality chromolithograph. They would have done a fair number; nobody knows how many. But it's very rare. In fact, this is the first one I've ever seen in person.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: I've never had it for sale. I've never seen it sold.
MYSELF: Wow.
APPRAISER: Now, what did you pay for it? Or your wife when she bought it?
MYSELF: Well, she told me she paid $225.
APPRAISER: Well, it is not in great condition. You've got the stains from the wood slats at the back. Where the wood slats meet, acid comes out and burns the paper. You also have a tear over on that side.
MYSELF: Okay.
APPRAISER: If you spent maybe $300, $400 on that, it would up the price to another thousand dollars.
MYSELF: Really? Well, I've enjoyed it.
APPRAISER: Good.
MYSELF: And I'm really glad we brought it down.
APPRAISER: I'm glad your wife got it for you.
MYSELF (chuckles): So am I.
Thanks for posting this! I just found out that Mulvaney was a distant ancestor of mine, and I've been having a devil of a time finding a photo of the painting online. At least now I have an idea of what kind of talent he had!
ReplyDeleteJuly 26, 2004
ReplyDeleteMr. Daniel E. Francis
2600 Montebello
Imperial, MO 63052
RE: original oil painting on canvas titled "CUSTER=S LAST RALLY"
by John Mulvany (American, 1844 1906), circa 1879 1881
Dear Dan:
You have asked us to provide all information in our files which concerns the provenance of the ownership of the original oil painting on canvas titled "CUSTER=S LAST RALLY" by John Mulvany (American, 1844 1906), circa 1879 1881, measuring approximately eleven (11) feet by twenty (20) feet, and signed "Jno Mulvany" in the lower right corner, depicting the last battle of the American soldier George Armstrong Custer and elements of the United States Seventh (7th) Calvary against the Sioux Indian Tribe on June 5, 1876 (the "Painting"). The Painting is currently stored in California and is under the control of Mr. Francis.
A dispute existed between Gallery Mayo, Inc., Robert Sanderson, Raymond Niemeyer, Robert E. Fitzgerald and Thomas Julian which led to the filing of a lawsuit styled Gallery Mayo, Inc. and Robert Sanderson vs. Robert E. Fitzgerald, Ray Niemeyer and Tom Julian , Case No. 4:94CV1925 TCM, filed in the Untied States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division. This lawsuit was originally commenced by Mayo and Sanderson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on February 24, 1994, but was transferred to the Missouri federal court after a default judgment was taken against Fitzgerald on July 6, 1994. The Missouri federal court approved a settlement of the dispute under seal on September 12, 1996. We have a copy of the court order and settlement documents showing the signature of the judge and all the parties except Fitzgerald, who had suffered the default judgment and subsequently filed a bankruptcy proceeding in Indianapolis, Indiana. The settlement acknowledged the jurisdiction of the court over the painting and all parties including Fitzgerald. It provided for a mechanism for selling the painting and transferring title. The painting, however, was not successfully sold pursuant to that settlement and agreement.
In 2001, you obtained agreements for the interests of all parties to the lawsuit except Fitzgerald (who had lost his interest by default and against whom Neimeyer retained the rights to any claim pursuant to the settlement and agreement) by sale, release or contract, which allows you to sell the painting. The Sanderson agreement is dated and notarized July 16, 2001. The Gallery Mayo agreement is dated and notarized July 17, 2001. Both transfer their interests to you and warrant that they are aware of no claim of Julian to the Painting, of any outstanding claims, liens or security interests, that the Court’s consent in the Eastern District of Missouri is not required for the transfer, and that Fitzgerald has no claim over the Painting. We have the original of these documents. We have a copy only of a “Release of Rights, Claims and Interests in “Custer’s Last Rally” By Mulvany” dated and notarized June 29, 2001 by Thomas Julian, acknowledging the transfer to you by Sanderson and Mayo and releasing any claim to the Painting. This was received indirectly from an attorney for Julian in Indianapolis, Indiana, who presumably has the original. Copies of all of the referenced documents could be provided at the time of any sale. You have negotiated an arrangement with Neimeyer and you have those documents.
The painting itself is of course available for inspection in California.
Very truly yours,
PAULE, CAMAZINE & BLUMENTHAL, P.C.
Thomas M. Blumenthal
TMB/sm