William B.T. Trego (American, 1858-1909)

William B.T. Trego (American, 1858-1909)

The Charge of Custer at Winchester
circa 1876
oil on canvas
signed W.T. Trego / 1876 to lower right
28 x 40 inches.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Property from the Collection of Bloomington Public Library, Bloomington, Illinois Fine Art Framed: 39 x 51 inches.

In overall good and stable condition, with light dust and surface grime to canvas. Fine network of stable craquelure throughout, with localized area of slight cupping to center, primarily to Custer figure and foreground horses. Canvas is loosely held in frame, particularly at left vertical edge, and would benefit from stabilization; with few associated areas of frame abrasions visible. Under UV light examination, two moderate areas of inpainting present in sky, with several additional small areas scattered throughout sky, likely filled areas of paint loss. Canvas has been relined and is fitted with newer tightening keys.

This dynamic battle scene is believed to be The Charge of Custer at Winchester, also known as Custer's Charge at the Battle of Winchester or The Woodstock Races, the whereabouts of which were previously unknown. In the catalogue raisonné for William T. Trego, Joseph Eckhardt reproduces the following description of the painting: “The principal figure is, of course, the yellow-haired chieftain mounted on his blooded black charger, dashing across the field at the head of his regiment. His sword is raised high in air, and his face, which is a portrait, expresses all the fire and lofty courage and enthusiasm which characterized the man, and made him pre-eminent as a cavalry leader.” (The Cleveland Free Press, day and month unknown, 1879, as quoted in Abram Trego Shertzer, A Historical Account of the Trego Family [Baltimore: 1884], p. 71).

Trego won an award for this work at the Michigan State Fair in Detroit in 1879, and the subsequent recognition helped launch his career as a preeminent American history painter.

Provenance:
Acquired by Adlai Ewing, New York and Bloomington, Illinois, circa 1880s;
By donation, Bloomington Public Library, Bloomington, Illinois, circa 1888.

Exhibited:
Michigan State Fair, Detroit, Michigan, August/September 1879.
Custer’s Last, or The Battle of the Little Big Horn in Picturesque Perspective, Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, Texas, 1968.

Literature:
Joseph Eckhardt, William T. Trego. Catalogue Raisonné. Doylestown, Pennsylvania: James A. Michener Art Museum, accessed 2023 via https://www.michenerartmuseum.org/catalogue/trego/.