National Archives Welcomes Historical Artist Mort Künstler September 13
Press Release · Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Press Release
August 28, 2012

National Archives Welcomes Historical Artist Mort Künstler September 13

Washington, DC…On Thursday September 13, at 7 p.m., the National Archives presents an evening with historical artist Mort Künstler. Künstler and Laurie Norton Moffatt, director of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA, will engage in an illustrated conversation about his career, inspirations, and historical research. Following the discussion, Mr. Künstler will sign copies of his book For Us the Living: The Civil War in Paintings and Eyewitness Accounts. The program is presented in partnership with the Congressional Battlefield Caucus.

This event is free and open to the public and will take place in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Attendees should use the Special Events Entrance, located on the National Mall at Constitution Ave. and 7th Street, NW.

Mort Künstler is a leading contemporary painter of Civil War scenes. His work is valued for its dramatic intensity and for an extraordinary level of authenticity based on extensive historical research. Künstler studied art at Brooklyn College, UCLA and Pratt Institute. He worked as an illustrator for Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, MAD Magazine and Boy's Life and then moved to depictions of historical topics for National Geographic. A commission from CBS-TV to do artwork for the miniseries The Blue and The Gray sparked the artist’s close association with the Civil War.

Laurie Norton Moffatt is Director/CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum. She is a leading Rockwell scholar and author of the catalogue raisonné, Norman Rockwell: A Definitive Catalogue. During her tenure, she has invited national reconsideration of Rockwell in the American art history canon and initiated discourse on the role of American illustration in the nation’s visual culture. Under her leadership, the museum became the first to receive the National Humanities Medal, America’s highest humanities honor.

The National Archives is fully accessible, and Assisted Listening Devices are available in the McGowan Theater upon request. To request a sign language interpreter for a public program, please send an email to public.program@nara.gov or call 202-357-5000 at least two weeks prior to the event. To verify dates and times of the programs, call 202-357-5000 or view the Calendar of Events online. To contact the National Archives, please call 1-866-272-6272 or 1-86-NARA-NARA (TDD 301-837-0482).

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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