Paintings highlight new center at fort
In a special ceremony on May 24, Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Farmington will unveil a new painting by noted artist Robert Griffing that depicts George Washington and his troops at the start of the battle that launched the French and Indian War. “A Charming Field for an Encounter,’ commissioned by the Eberly Foundation, will be unveiled in a 3 p.m. ceremony at the visitor’s center.
It is the first of two paintings that Griffing is creating to portray the July 3, 1754, battle. They will be used in the new Fort Necessity/National Road Interpretive and Education Center that is scheduled to open in 2004 during the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War.
The ceremony will include remarks by Joanne Hanley, superintendent of Fort Necessity, and Robert Eberly, president of the Eberly Foundation, before Griffing steps forward to unveil his painting.
Also expected to be present are Donna Holdorf, director of the National Road State Heritage Park, and Laura Fisher, director of the Working Together Consortium, which is working to advance awareness of the region’s role in the French and Indian War.
Hanley commented, “We would not even have the painting if not for the generosity of the Eberly Foundation and Mr. Eberly’s foresight. Mr. Eberly saw that we needed one for Fort Necessity. It was long overdue. And it’s an honor to have a painting by Mr. Griffing. He does wonderful work.’
Griffing’s first painting for Fort Necessity is from the British side. Its title, “A Charming Field for an Encounter,’ comes from Washington’s description of the land in a letter to Gov. Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia.
The painting will hang in the current visitor’s center until the new one is completed. Posters of the painting will be available at the unveiling. Limited edition prints will be available in the fall.
The second painting, which will be completed next year, will illustrate the French and Indian side of the battle. The second painting is, as yet, untitled.
“This is the beginning of the battle,’ Griffing in a telephone interview to his studio in Gibsonia said of the first painting. “This is what Washington expected to happen: to fight European style. It didn’t happen that way. The French and Indians fought Indian-style, behind the trees.’
Griffing said the painting shows Washington with the independent company moving out to meet the French. The Virginia militia is behind the independent company. An invitation to the public ceremony shows a detail of the painting with Washington on horseback in front of his troops and Fort Necessity in the distant background.
“This is just a little detail,’ said Griffing. “We didn’t want to reveal the painting.’
Griffing received help in creating the piece from historian Scott Stephenson of Wilmington, Del.
“He helped with the historical accuracy of the piece: the uniforms, what these guys were wearing, the actual line up of the troops,’ Griffing said.
Griffing called the painting “an educational project’ and said, “This will give people an idea of what it really looked like. ‘
“A Charming Field for an Encounter’ is the first exhibit to be completed for the new interpretive and education center, which is the only one in the National Park Service dedicated to telling the story of the French and Indian War. The new center will also interpret the story of the National Road, located along present-day Route 40 in Pennsylvania, and its importance to the development of the nation.
Griffing’s paintings will be mechanically enlarged for the new center.
The framed painting of “A Charming Field for an Encounter,’ measures 98 by 44 inches. Tom Markwardt of Fort Necessity National Battlefield said it will enlarged to measure 27 feet and 6 inches long by 9 feet, 5 inches high, which is four times the length and four times the height of the original painting.
The paintings will be placed across from each other with the British on one side and the French and Indians on the other side.
“So you have the feeling you’re actually walking between the two armies,’ Griffing explained.
Griffing, who specializes in paintings of this time period and, in particular, the Eastern Woodlands Indians, said of the Fort Necessity projects: “It was a natural for me to come into this.’
According to his biography, Griffing is a native of Linesville, Pa., who studied illustration at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and went on to enjoy a 30-year career in advertising.
In the early 1980s, he began painting Indian themes in his spare time.
“In 1992, Griffing retired from advertising to create scenes of his first love, the 18th century Eastern Woodland Indian,’ the biography reported. “These paintings have given rise to a new excitement for the cultural mystique of the eastern Native American. In the past eight years, he has enjoyed a growing interest from collectors in the western United States, mainly through Settler’s West Gallery in Tucson, Arizona. This success has grown worldwide, especially throughout Europe, with the popularity of his first book, ‘The Art of Robert Griffing,’ now in its second printing.’
The biography continued, “Today, Griffing is considered one of the foremost painters of the Native American and was the 1999 recipient of the prestigious John Forbes Medal for his contribution to the study and promotion of eastern frontier history.’
With the upcoming anniversary of the French and Indian War, Griffing is receiving many requests for his work.
“There are so many,’ he said. “I do anywhere from 12 to 15 paintings a year. I can’t keep up with the demand.’