William Brooke Thomas Trego (American, 1858-1909) Three Union Soldiers (Study for the Rescue of the

William Brooke Thomas Trego (American, 1858-1909) Three Union Soldiers (Study for the Rescue of the Colors)

Signed and dated ‘Wm. T. Trego 1899’ bottom right, oil on canvas
17 x 21 in. (43.2 x 53.3cm)

Provenance

Collection of Steve Barth, Pennsylvania.
Acquired directly from the above.
Collection of Sydney F. and Sharon Martin, Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
The Estate of Sydney F. Martin.

Exhibited

"So Bravely and So Well: The Life and Art of William T. Trego," James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, June 3-October 2, 2011.

Literature

William T. Trego Catalogue Raisonné, James A. Michener Art Museum (accessed online at https://www.michenerartmuseum.org/catalogue/trego/, illustrated).

Note

The present work appears to be a focused study of the main group of three figures featured at the center of The Rescue of the Colors. Two of the men are shown charging to the right, towards the advancing Confederates, while the soldier closest to the viewer is dramatically convulsing from the blow he just received. For action scenes such as this one, Trego usually used live models strapped in harnesses lifted up in the air, or would have them pose on a barrel hanging from the ceiling of his studio through chains, at the rate of one dollar a day.