Boise Open Studios Tour coming up in October!

 Here's the link. Come see my Battle of Little Bighorn project Oct. 7-8.  I'm artist #22 on the map.

https://boiseopenstudios.com/

The Lure of the West

 Ah yes, the lure of America - of the West. The chance for adventure and freedom. That's what a lot of soldiers who joined the Regular Army after the Civil War were thinking. They were disappointed later when they were assigned to garrison the frontier. Cavalry soldiers deserted more frequently than infantry soldiers because they had horses and could get away faster and go farther. The desertion rate was tremendous and caused a lot of meetings back in DC. They weren't as worried about losing men as they were about losing horses and equipment. Posts tried improving food and paying more, and that helped a bit, but the bottom line was that post duty was mind-numbingly boring. Indians didn't try and attack large posts, such as Fort Lincoln, so there wasn't much in the way of military action unless the men were out on a campaign or a foray of some sort. Many of the soldiers were illiterate and received permission at larger posts (which had officers, their wives and children) to attend school if only to have something to occupy their minds. Scurvy set in because of the limited diet of beef and bread, essentially. This led to budgeting for seeds and creating the post garden, often 10-20 acres or more, which was tended by one or several soldiers specifically assigned to it. Before the invention of the post garden one garrison commander ordered those with scurvy to head out into the prairie and eat their fill of wild onions. It helped cure scurvy but some were killed by Indians while they were munching away. What a life! Private Shea from England was just one of many men who lived like this and was ultimately killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Learn more and ask questions at the Little Bighorn Alliance and American-Tribes sites. Thanks for looking! 

The Dead of Little Bighorn

"I start the painting, and they show up...."

This is how I describe my approach to a really large task: painting portraits of every person killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place on a hot and dusty slope in southeastern Montana June 25-26, 1876. It's almost overwhelming, but not quite.

I feel the need to humanize a battle that is so often described in terms of maneuvers. But mostly I want to honor the dead - more than 300 of them. It will give life to the dead, an idea that sparked in me many years ago when I first visited the battlefield. I felt uneasy when I was there. I felt the ghosts, like something wasn't finished. So I am giving them faces and stories. And then maybe they can rest.

No one knows what most of these guys looked like (very few photos exist,) but I do have enlistment descriptions and stories that guide my paintbrush. Biographies, letters, telegrams and eye-witness accounts will accompany these faces. You will be able to handle everything but the painting. 

There will even be a painting of all the horses lost at this horrific battle.

The 150th anniversary of the battle is in 2026 and I am bringing its aftermath to you in a kind of portable cemetery. I hope you stay awhile and get to know everyone.

Follow me on Instagram for show updates https://www.instagram.com/jennyniemeyerart/