Customer Reviews

Witness To The Civil War: The Art Of John Paul Strain

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Readers of North and South magazine will be familiar withthis artist as he often paints the cover and has a full page ad for his gallery in most issues. My copy oddly enough has Fire in the Valley on the cover. The book pictured has Raid on the L and N. Dramitic, finely detailed art with excellent reproduction and unlike many art books not full of white space. The dust jacket has prints on back and front cover and the glossy hardcover reprints the same art. A class production all the way. You might buy it as a gift but will probably want one for yourself. The south makes the cover but north and south are both ictured. I especially liked his paintings of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

This book is a jewel and deserves a place on every Civil War enthusiast's bookshelve. It doesn't get any better. It contains 46 of Strain's paintings but does not contain all his work, particularly his later work. Each painting is accompanied by narrative and personal notes, which tremendously enhances the enjoyment of this book. Strain's paintings are so detailed and historically accurate that gear, uniforms, and weapons can be specifically identified. Strain's paintings generally focus on scenes that highlight specific leaders in various non-battle situations, unlike Don Troiani, who prefers active battle scenes with anonomous characters.

John Paul Strain is my favorite civil war artist. He is able to capture settings and distinctive facial characteristics that make it appear as if one is looking at a photograph. The poses of his characters is usually active and conveys realistic movement so that one feels one can reach out and touch the characters. This book is an excellent collection of many of his civil war paintings but if you're looking for more detail and depth look for his 32" x 36" paintings or prints.

Beautiful scenery surrounding impressively rendered brave men.

SPECIFICS:
Page Count: 128
Number of images: 55
Small images: 0
Half page images: 9
Full page images: 46
2-page spreads: 0
BW images: 0

TEXT:
Foreword: 1 page
Insight on several key figures of the civil war and their achievements: 66 pages

ART:
7 images: 5 stars
43 images: 4 stars
5 images: 3 stars
0 images: 2 stars
0 images: 1 star


Overall: 4 Stars

The book was used and the dust cover was dirty and with sticker half pulled off. It was a gift and it was pointed out to me the shabbiness of the book. Disappointd!

One of the best painter and historian of the civil war era. Paintings are like camera like quality...colorful and authentic.