Original Item: Only One Available. Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate potential opponents. The depiction of other aspects of warfare, especially the suffering of casualties and civilians, has taken much longer to develop. As well as portraits of military figures, depictions of anonymous soldiers on the battlefield have been very common; since the introduction of military uniforms such works often concentrate on showing the variety of these.

This portrait is of an unknown Union Cavalryman during the Civil War. The soldier, which appears to be seated, is wearing his popular Hardee hat with an M1860 light cavalry sword in hand. The Hardee hat, also known as the Model 1858 Dress Hat and sometimes nicknamed the "Jeff Davis", was the regulation dress hat for enlisted men in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Hardee hat was also worn by Confederate soldiers.

Much of the original colors are present but are unfortunately faded. The canvas is dry, causing cracking in the material as well as loss with chipping present. The original wood frame is still solid though someone unfortunately added two screws to the back for hanging hardware. It measures approximately 16" x 20".

A lovely painting ready for further research and display.