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“Preliminary Trial of a Horse Thief – Scene in a Western Justice’s Court”
JOHN MULVANY
American  1839-1906
Oil on canvas
48 x 72 inches
Exhibited National Academy of Design, New York 1876

The following biography was written by Joseph Szymanski:
John Mulvany was born in Ireland in 1839 and at the age of 12, came to New York City. He worked around the Old Academy of Design and evidently picked up training in drawing and sketching there. In 1861 he exhibited his first painting at the National Academy.  In 1865 he again exhibited at the National Academy and for the next few years managed to accumulate enough money to carry him to Munich, for on October 12, 1869 he registered at the Akademie of Munich and officially began classes in life and antiquities on April 24, 1870.  

Under the gifted Akademie Director and painter of history and genre, Carl Theodore von Piloty, and his assistant, Alexander von Wagner, Mulvany advanced remarkably well and won the bronze medal. He went on to Düsseldorf and to Antwerp, for study under the history painter, Nicaise de Keyser.  Upon his return to America in 1873, Mulvany showed his assertiveness and impatience with stays in Chicago and St. Louis, never content to stay in one place very long.  After the great fire of Chicago in 1871, he went further west and lived near the Iowa – Nebraska border where he began accumulating material for western paintings. (William Merritt chase and Frank Duveneck both saw Mulvany’s paintings during this time, which furnished the incentive for them to study in Munich also.)
 

In 1876, a significant year in American art history, Mulvany exhibited “The Trial of a Horse Thief – Scene in a Western Justice’s Court” at the National Academy. He certainly must have contemplated the teachings of Aristotle who said "The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things but their inward significance."  For in this episode of frontier justice, the rubicund faces and hands clearly portray the feelings of these pioneer settlers, plainsman, cattleman, hunters, etc., at a time when the west changed from vigilante justice to statutory law.  
But "The Trial” was only a prelude to Mulvany’s greatest triumph. When the news of General George Custer's massacre reached his ears, Mulvany, being a seeker of truth in nature, spent the next four years researching the battle, one of which was spent with the US cavalry among the very Indians engaged in the battle. The resultant painting, an eleven by twenty foot canvas, when exhibited throughout America, caused Walt Whitman to call it "heroic to the uttermost, nothing in the books like it, nothing in the Homer or Shakespeare… ".  
 

After the Battle of Little Bighorn, John Mulvany traveled to the location of the massacre.  He remembered what his great teacher Carl Theodore von Piloty had stressed about historical accuracy.  There were no white survivors to interview about Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn.  Mulvany spoke with native chiefs and hired translators to gather accounts of the battle from some who had been in the battle.

How does one improve on a reputation after "Custer’s Last Rally?"  One doesn't!  And so (as did Thomas Eakins after finishing "The Gross Clinic”), Mulvany turned to portraiture.  Although financially rewarding in the beginning, the restless unsettled spirits dueling inside his mind demanded more of him and Mulvany turned to liquor.  Eventually “from a fine physique, handsome features and kindly countenance, he had sunk to a rugged derelict, uncertain of a nights lodging or a day’s food.”  On May 1, 1906 he slipped into New York's East River and drowned.  The death certificate indicates he committed suicide.  
 

Almost 40 years later another tragic episode struck his legacy when "Custer’s Last Rally” was destroyed by fire to the Heinz pier at Atlantic city.  It was truly a sad day for lovers of American art and history. "The Preliminary Trial of a Horse Thief – Scene in a Western Justice’s Court” however, remains a source of enjoyment available for the enthusiastic viewer and scholar who may want to know more about his this perceptive pioneer artist of the American West.

A note from Brady Hart:
This painting was exhibited at the National Academy in 1876, where it was purchased by J. Irvin Carr.  Carr produced a pocket size booklet explaining this grand historical painting to a curious public.  The text of that booklet is reproduced here to explain the characters in the courtroom, as depicted in John Mulvany's painting.  Reprints of this small booklet will be provided free of charge by sending a self addressed stamped envelope.

"Preliminary Trial of a Horse Thief" represents the single pivotal moment when a considered and disciplined trial in a court of law replaced mob justice as the law of the west.  Before this time, a horse thief, or any other accused, would face swift and permanent punishment at the hands of a lynch mob, without due process, without the presumption of innocence until the proof of guilt.  Horse thievery was as serious a crime in the vast West as murder, simply because without his horse, a man might well be placed in a life or death survival situation in a vast and dry landscape. 

Acknowledgement

This rare booklet is reprinted in its entirety through the courtesy of art expert and appraiser, Joseph J. Szymanski, to acknowledge a historical episode in American heritage and to preserve the artistic achievement and contribution to American art by the great artist John Mulvany.

Readers are advised that Limited Edition Lithographs printed from the original painting may be ordered from:

Szymanski Gallery

Beverly Wilshire Hotel,
Beverly Hills, CA 90212

June 21, 1978

(Note from Brady Hart Gallery:  A few examples of these 1978 Color lithographs are still available.)

STORY
of the great
PAINTING

“The Preliminary Trial of a Horse Thief.”

A Court Scene

On the American Frontier
 

By Mulvany.
New York, 1876.
 

J. IRVIN CARR, Proprietor.

Chicago:

Ottaway & Colbert, Printers

1877.

EXPLANATION OF CUT.

  FIG. 1.--Joe Hickman, the prisoner, commonly called "Guerrilla Joe," partly in consequence of his lawless life, and partly because of his notorious participation during the Civil War in house burning and general guerrilla warfare upon the frontier settlements of Kansas and Missouri.  FIG. 2.-Jimmy Hickman, prisoner's son.  FIG. 3.-Frank Kimball, Sheriff.  FIG. 4.-Anson Klein, prosecuting attorney.   FIG. 5.-Sandy Wilkins, attorney for the defense.  FIG. 6.-C. H. Eastman, justice of the peace.   FIG. 7.-Col. Edward Mason, clerk of the court.  FIG. 8.-Fred. Lord. FIG. 9.-Len. Jewell, a simple minded, good-for-nothing sort of a hunter.   FIG. 10.-Jack Hardy, a miner.  FIG. 11.-Hi. King, leader of the lynchers.   FIG. 12.-Ben. Burbridge.  FIG. 13- George McCauley, a sport.   FIG. 10 and the two figures standing beside him, and FIGs. 8 and 9, sympathize with the crowd outside the court (the box on which the prisoner’s son is sitting being the supposed boundary of the court room proper), but feel enough interest in the culprit to get inside where they can better see and hear him.  The FIGs. 11, 12 and 13, and others outside the court room, are stock men and farmers collected at the trial to see that justice is done.

NOTICEABLE FEATURES

OF THE

GREAT PAINTING.

The attention and study of the observer, and of all lovers of art, is particularly called (without wishing to detract attention from its other beauties) to some features of the work, mentioned below. Features that, in their conception and vivid delineation, mark the hand of a master. Thousands of artists can paint forms and blend colors, but few, indeed, can stamp the canvas with a living, breathing life, showing the individuality and emotions of each member of a large group of men inspired by one common object, as has been done in this work - a life and vividness that greets you with the freshness and reality experienced from contact With an actual existence.

The features alluded to are these First, the natural grouping of so many characters in so small a space. (The cabin is small, and used for a trading-post or store, as well as for a dwelling, and, in addition to the people that are in it, is well filled with the various commodities usually kept in such a place). Second, that each figure is a distinct and natural character, having no resemblance whatever to any of the others. Third, the beautiful, natural and entranced expression of the little boy and girl, back of the sheriff. Fourth, the passionate and vengeful expression of the face and clenched hand of the prisoner's son. Fifth, the easy, careless, yet keenly watchful, expression and attitude of that superb character-the sheriff Sixth, the perfect manner in which the artist has caught the pose of the figure with a bandage over his eye. Seventh, the curious and very interesting expression of Figure 10, indicating very clearly, as it does, that he is disposed to give the prisoner a hearing, but inclined, nevertheless, to "take but little stock” in what he says. Eighth, the shyster-like, judicial appearance of the attorney for the defense - quite a common character in extreme frontier settlements. Ninth, the striking difference in the expression of those inside the court and the crowd outside - the former appearing very much interested in what the prisoner is saying, as honest officers of the law should, while those on the outside show with marvelous vividness that they feel no interest whatever in any statement he may make, but are simply waiting until he finishes his story, before taking him to his execution - showing no indecision, misgivings or pity.

It is needless here to say anything of the prisoner, further than that he is drawn to the life, and is a perfect type of character frequently found in the South, West and among the mountains, all the way to California --tall, raw-boned men; ignorant, suspicious and deceitful, always slovenly in their dress, with coarse, unkempt hair and whiskers, and dark skin, many of them wearing rings in their ears after the Indian fashion, as is the case with the subject under discussion.

REMARKS.

The scene of the painting is not ideal or imaginary, but drawn on the spot from an actual trial that took place in 1873, as described.

The characters, with the exception of the criminal, so far as known, are living to-day, and every other object in the painting had its place in the cabin, exactly as shown.  The artist remained in the neighborhood of the tragedy about four months, perfecting his sketch of the different characters as taken at the moment of the trial, and then carried his hard-earned prize to New York, where he occupied three years in placing it upon the canvas, for his own and coming generations to admire.  In the spring of 1876, it was taken from the easel and placed in the National Academy of Design, where it received the encomiums of the leading daily press, and where it was purchased by its present owner.  It is admitted by all who have studied it to be one of the finest figure paintings, (the highest class of art,) if not the finest ever produced or exhibited in this country, and, it may be proper to add here, has a cash value of $20,000.

The subject of the work should deeply interest every American who has watched or feels any pride in the marvelous development of his country, as it portrays a scene, with rare power and eloquent faithfulness to life, which has been a feature of our civilization from the East to the West, and which must continually grow in interest, as in real life such scenes must soon pass away from us forever, leaving only the CANVAS to tell us the STORY OF OUR PAST.

In the minds of many of our old pioneers, it will awaken buried memories, and bring to them through the misty long-ago a train of forgotten incidents and struggles that, seen through the mellowing lapse of years, will afford them, in the twilight of a well.  Rounded life, many hours of pleasant reverie, and happily inspire them to compare the present populous, rich and civilized condition of the country about them with its condition when perhaps they first shouldered their rifles and pushed farther into the wilderness.

To the younger people it will be a realization of the stories they have heard, or of the rough happenings of which they have read occurring in communities further toward the sunset.  To many of the present pioneers it will come as a vivid delineation of the gatherings they may have too often seen in real life.

A CARD TO THE PUBLIC.

After many inquiries for a copy of some kind of this great painting, and after many solicitations from eminent connoisseurs, and other lovers of the work who have been privileged to study it, for a facsimile of it in convenient size, the publisher has decided that the art loving public desire something more than the worn-out, characterless productions --landscapes, fruit, game pieces, etc., that have been furnished them heretofore—something that they could talk about, study, discuss and feel interested in something that their visiting neighbors and friends would like to look at and chat over ; something, in short, that possessed CHARACTER AND STORY.  Therefore it has been re-produced in chromo, and is herewith presented to the public, who, it is believed, will experience much pleasure in its possession and study.  In presenting it, the publisher deems it his privilege to call attention to the fact that, as a work of art, (entirely aside from the subject,) incomparably the best figure chromo ever published or sold in this country.

It is comparatively an easy matter to depict by the chromo-art landscapes or any inanimate object, but to obtain a life-like and realistic expression of the human face, and especially of so many faces in so small a space as has been done in this work, requires the skill and long, weary labor of the most eminent artist.

This elaborate work is an absolute and perfect reproduction, both in expression and depth of coloring and fidelity of detail-of the painting, and it is hoped that, when solicited to purchase, the public will not confound it with the productions which may have been offered them under the name of chromos, but which are generally but cheap lithographs, until they have given this an examination.  A clear understanding and graphic conception of the story, and all the great beauties of the painting, can be obtained from the chromo, and, at the same time, its size makes it convenient to hang in either parlor, room, office or other place of business, and its price places it within the reach of any who have a taste for art.

It is proper to add here, for the information of those who have not seen the painting, that it is six by eight feet in size. (sic.)(Note from Brady Hart Gallery:  This canvas measures 48 x 72”.  The author, J. Irvin Carr, must have been measuring including the original elaborate frame.)

There will be but a limited number of these chromos published, which will be fairly distributed throughout the various sections of the country, leaving but a few in any single locality.  

They will be sold only by canvassers, or direct from the publisher, and the price will be the same in either case.

Very respectfully,                                                                                                                   C. W. GREEN,

                                                                                                                                     Publisher for the West.

CHICAGO, ILL.

----------------------------------------

JOE HICKMAN, THE PRISONER.

(Fig. 1 of the Key,)

This notorious outlaw was born in Southern Missouri, in 1828.  As graphically shown by his portrait, he was by nature both ignorant and cowardly, but at the same time possessed of a sort of devilish cunning and Indian-like caution that enabled him to succeed in a long career of crime, where a braver and more manly man would have met defeat and capture.

Reared in ignorance and idleness, at the age of sixteen he left his parents and joined a roving band of trappers, bound for fresh fields farther West.  After wandering about with this company for five years, his lawless and thievish habits compelled them to drive him from their camp, to which, however, he returned in the night and helped himself to a couple of their best horses, and such other things as he needed, and struck north for the trail leading across the country to California, which he reached in due time, and arrived in Sacramento in the fall of ‘49.  In this fair State he plied the vocation of gambler and thief in the various mining camps, remaining in each only so long as appeared safe.  During his sojourn here he was many times captured, and saved himself in each instance only by utilizing all the desperate means of escape with which a long familiarity with crime had acquainted him.  In 1857, a wayward and homeless woman joined her fortunes with his, and they lived together, rambling from place to place, unti1 1861, when, unable to bear longer, with his cruelty, she abandoned both himself and a child that had been born to them, then about three years old, and disappeared no one knows whither. Owing to this abandonment, and knowing that California was no longer a safe place for him, and feeling a desire to visit the scenes of his early life, he returned to “the States.”  Arriving in Kansas, he found his child burdensome, and, giving him to a farmer and stock raiser (with whom he is still living), took advantage of the unsettled condition of affairs caused by the war and plunged into a career of house-burning, robbery, and horse-stealing, regardless of the political sympathies of his victims, continuing until the close of the struggle, thus acquiring the soubriquet of “Guerrilla Joe.”   Missouri, upon the cessation of hostilities, being too hot for him, he fled to New Mexico and Arizona, where he repeated his California operations among the scattered mining districts of those territories, unti1 1871.  At this time he returned to Southwestern Kansas, and soon made himself conspicuous as a horse thief but avoiding capture until the early spring of 1873.  At this date, however, his success had become so alarming that a determined and successful effort, was made to hunt him down.  Many of the settlers engaged themselves in this enterprise, but the Sheriff of the county (fig. 3 of the Key), by his superior dash and bravery, first succeeded in tracing him to his den, where he surprised and captured him, gaining by this hazardous act the praise and thanks of the many communities wherein the name of “Guerrilla Joe” was the terror of every household.  While being taken to the place of trial, and after the Sheriff had been joined by Ben Burbridge (fig. 12 of the Key), the prisoner made a desperate attempt to escape, and received a touch of Burbridge's knife, which accounts for the bandage about his wrist.  All the scattered settlers of the neighborhood gathered at the trial under the leadership of Capt. Hi. King (fig. 11 of the Key), who had suffered a great deal at the hands of the prisoner, and, with their coats off, as though about to engage in their usual occupations, waited for him to make his statement, (from which the above facts are taken), and then, silently and firmly, without parade and without regard to what might be the opinions of the Court, led him to the tree they had prepared for him.

JIMMY HICKMAN, PRISONER'S SON.

(Fig. 2 of the Key.)

A few words are sufficient to tell the story of this unfortunate boy up to the time of the trial.  The gentleman into whose hands he was given happened to be an upright, thrifty farmer, and the child grew up an honest, industrious lad, notwithstanding that the misdeeds of his father were as familiar to him as to any of the settlers.  When the trial took place, he felt an irresistible desire to see his father, and placed himself in attendance as we see him in the painting.  His features and clenched hand show with painful vividness the conflicting emotions that rage within him -- sorrow, anger and mortification.

FRANK KIMBALL, SHERIFF.

(Fig. 3 of the Key.)

This fine character, who is introduced as a noble fellow and pleasant acquaintance, as well as a masterly work of art, is a son of New England, who, however, has resided in Kansas for the last dozen years, five of which he has held the office of Sheriff of his county, much to its peace and good behavior.  He is twenty-nine years old, and a good type of the best class of Eastern young men who are brought up to labor, and who early seek the maiden fields of the great wide West, in which to more successfully woo the goddess of fortune.

To the enterprise and pluck of such men as these, the grandeur and marvelous development of the West is largely due.

He is left and recommended to your kind attention and regard, with the remark that the more you see of him and the longer you know him, the better you will like him.

ANSON KLEIN, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY.

(Fig. 4 of the Key,)

This familiar looking character (universally pronounced a magnificent work of art), is a native of New Jersey, and of Dutch extraction.  He owns the place where the trial is being held, (the cabin contains three rooms, although but one, of course, shows in the painting,) and keeps a small store or trading post.  He is possessed of considerable legal experience and information, and on such occasions as the present usually takes the place of attorney for the people.  He is forty-two years of age and blessed with a good motherly wife and two fine children, son and daughter, the latter seen in the painting at the foot of the bed eagerly watching the prisoner.  It is scarcely possible to find a village in the Union that does not possess a perfect type of this character, usually called "Squire,” known by everybody, and generally liked.  His avocation is ordinarily of such an easy nature that he can spend most of the time about the "court,” or the bar-room of the tavern, or other place where the neighbors congregate to talk over their own affairs and the affairs of the nation.  He is fond of jovial company, tells a story well, plays a good game of checkers and seven-up, and is a fair judge of what constitutes good bitters.  His old hat under the bench speaks eloquently of his character, and is doubtless used as a perambulating post-office for the community.

SANDY WILKINS, ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE.

(Fig. 5 of the Key.)

In sketching this legal genius, but a few words are necessary as he will attract little attention, farther than to show the remarkable power of the artist in delineating different types of character.  But little could be learned from him as to his early life.

He has resided near where the trial took place a number of years, and is sometimes employed by the neighbors, to try cases for them before the Justice, and has the reputation of being rather a sharp pettifogger.  In the present instance, the Court, out of respect for the legal appearance of things and the rights of the prisoner, appointed him attorney for the defense.  It is needless to add that his assistance availed nothing.

C. H. EASTMAN, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.

(Fig. 6 of the Key.)

This pleasant looking old gentleman was formerly a citizen of Rhode Island, and is a brother-in-law of the prosecuting attorney (Fig. 4 of the Key), in whose cabin he lives and holds his court.  He is an intelligent, fine old man, and well thought of by his neighbors, especially by those of them whose difficulties are submitted to him for judicial adjustment.  He feels deep interest in the prisoner's statement and probable fate, and his facial expression, giving language to these feelings, is so absolutely perfect and natural, that we study the artistic work with delight and wonder.

COL. EDWARD MASON, CLERK OF THE COURT,

(Fig. 7 of the Key.)

Is a New Yorker, but a citizen of Kansas since 1865.  He participated in the war, lost a leg at Atlanta, and was mustered out of the service a Colonel.  In consideration of his familiarity with court proceedings and the use of the pen, in important cases like the present he is elected to fill the responsible position of Clerk.  On this occasion, however, his expression tells us as plainly as could printed words, that both the culprit and what he is saying, is repugnant to him.

He is a prosperous farmer, and has a pleasant family and home.

FRED.  LORD.

(Fig. 8 of the Key.)

This pleasant looking young man is a Virginian.  Served in the Confederate army from its organization till its disbandment, and was a good soldier.  At the close of the struggle, finding himself and people poor, he pushed for the prairies of the West, and commenced life anew.  Here he soon profitably established himself on a rich piece of land, married his old love, brought his parents to him, obtained the respect and good will of his neighbors, and -- is happy.  The artist has admirably caught his expression -- expectancy and great interest in what the prisoner’s saying.

LEN JEWELL. AND JACK HARDY.

(Figs. 9 and 10 of the Key.)

These characters have been sufficiently noticed in another part of the book, and it is only necessary to remark here regarding Fig. 10, that he does not belong to the locality of the trial, but resides near Central City, Co., and is by occupation a miner.  Chancing, however, to be in the vicinity when the prisoner was brought in, and being familiar with his reputation and in sympathy with the victims of his theft, he, of course, appeared at the examination.  As elsewhere suggested, his expression shows both credulity and interest as well as suspicion and dislike, and hence is unusually interesting in an art sense.

LEN JEWELL. AND JACK HARDY.

(Figs. 9 and 10 of the Key.)

These characters have been sufficiently noticed in another part of the book, and it is only necessary to remark here regarding Fig. 10, that he does not belong to the locality of the trial, but resides near Central City, Co., and is by occupation a miner.  Chancing, however, to be in the vicinity when the prisoner was brought in, and being familiar with his reputation and in sympathy with the victims of his theft, he, of course, appeared at the examination.  As elsewhere suggested, his expression shows both credulity and interest as well as suspicion and dislike, and hence is unusually interesting in an art sense.

CAPTAIN HIRAM KING,

(Fig. 11 of the Key.)

Is a native of Ohio, and lived there with his parents until the breaking out of the war, when he was eighteen years of age.  At the first call for volunteers he enlisted as private and served four years, mustering out as Captain in the -- Ohio Regiment.  In 1866 he married and moved on to a large tract of land he had previously purchased, in Southwestern Kansas, where he still resides in comfortable circumstances, growing up about him.

He is a grand type of rugged manhood and magnificently drawn.  His features show a consciousness of great mental power and will, and his physical appearance is equally strong.  The poise of the head, the posture of the body, the massive jaw, the broad shoulders and bared arm, all indicate a character of unusual strength.  These qualifications naturally gave him the place of leader on such an occasion as the one in which we see him.

BEN BURBRIDGE.

(Fig. 12 of the Key.)

This determined, rough looking fellow, is a fair type of character frequently met on our Frontier, and as likely to hail from one section of the country as another.  He attracts much attention, as a figure of art, and for this reason, mainly, he is here alluded to.  It being impossible to equal by any pen sketch, the artist's clear and comprehensive portrayal of this character, farther remark is not demanded, except, perhaps, to say that his occupation is that of both farmer and blacksmith.

GEORGE M'CAULEY,

(Fig. 13 of the Key.)

Was born in Detroit, Mich., and since fifteen years of age, has sustained the reputation of a great sport.  At twenty-three, he went West and obtained the position of brakeman on the M., K. & T. R. R., but soon tiring of its monotony and confinement, and being desirous of learning more of frontier life than was possible in what he was fond of calling so circumscribed a sphere of action, left the company and eventually made his way to Southwestern Kansas, among the stock men (the locality of the Trial), depending for his living on his knowledge of card and other games of chance.  While he has seen much of the rougher part of life east of the Mississippi, it is plain that the present situation is a new one in his experience.  He is not wholly a bad fellow, but his attitude and expression so admirably depict his character and condition of mind on this occasion, that additional comment is unnecessary.

OTHER CHARACTERS OF THE WORK

Need no special mention, as they are simply an ordinary crowd, composed of the various types of men usually to be seen in a frontier gathering.

The following biography is from the Archives of askArt"
On June 25, 1876, in what is now eastern Montana, there occurred a minor military engagement along the Little Bighorn River. 

The Seventh U.S. Cavalry under Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer had met up unexpectedly with the fighting men of a large Sioux and Cheyenne village, and five companies of cavalry, some 270 soldiers, were killed.

Despite the fact that no white eyewitnesses survived, the event soon became a major saga in the mythology of our country's history, and hundreds of artists, poets, composers and historians have tried their hands at producing a true depiction of events as they must have unfolded that day.

The first artist to realize the potential appeal of the subject matter was John Mulvany (1844-1906), who had arrived in the U.S. from Ireland in the mid-1850s, served in the Civil War, and later travelled to Europe to study art under masters well known for their battlefield scenes. Returning to the U.S. in the early 1870s, Mulvany lived in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago and points West.

John Mulvany was living in Kansas City as of 1879, when he began work on "Custer's Last Rally", a huge painting depicting the cavalrymen's last minutes on earth. In his quest for accuracy of detail, the artist researched his subject on the actual battlefield, on Sioux reservations, and at Fort Leavenworth. After two years of work on his masterpiece, Mulvany completed the eleven-by-twenty-foot canvas and took it on the road. The monumental painting remained on tour until at least 1890, wowing paying audiences in a number of U.S. cities. A newspaper commentator in Boston saluted Mulvany's forceful depiction of "a grim, dismal melee," and Walt Whitman, the famous poet, praised the work as being sketched "from reality, or the best that could be got of it."

In order to reach an even larger audience, Mulvany prepared his composition to be issued as a color lithograph. As part of this process, the artist painted a smaller version of his work, from which a lithograph artist could prepare a print to be mass-produced. This copy is in the collections of the Woolaroc Museum, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The large original painting is in private hands.

Mulvany continued his career as a painter, but he is remembered now, mostly, only for "Custer's Last Rally", which was said to have made him a small fortune. Although he enjoyed tremendous commercial success for a time, the artist finally succumbed to the lure of alcoholism and drowned himself in the East River in 1906.

"Custer's Last Rally" (lithograph) is in the collections of the Kansas Museum of History, Kansas State Historical Society.

Source:
From a researcher at the Ashworth Collection of Native American and Western Art in Fort Smith, AR. Material for this biography is from the Kansas Historical Society at www.kshs.org/cool2/coolcust.htm
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Born in Ireland, John Mulvany was a western genre painter who is most remembered for his Civil War scenes and for being the first artist to depict the defeat of General Custer in 1876.

He studied at the Dusseldorf and Munich Academies in Germany where one of his teachers was Karl Von Piloty, known for his classical depictions of historical genre. Mulvany came to the United States in 1856 and then served as a Union soldier in the Civil War. He then returned to Europe came back to the United States where he lived in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Chicago and then Nebraska following the Chicago fire of 1871.

Exhibition venues included the Brooklyn Art Association and the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Source:
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"
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In January 2003, the Irish American Cultural Institute held a meeting at the residence of Noel Fahey, the Irish Ambassador to the United States. The purpose of the Insititute is to promote cultural awareness of Ireland and to support history research.

Niamh O'Sullivan was one of the award winners. She is a 2001 Ph.D. recipient from University College Dublin and has been a lecturer of History of Art and Design and Complementary Studies at National College of Art and Design since 1987. 

Her submission that earned the award was: "A Retrospective of John Mulvany's Artwork".