Existing comment:
The Death of Ellsworth:
New York City artist Alonzo Chappel is remembered for his portraits and historical paintings, especially his large canvas "The Last Hours of Lincoln" (1868). Smaller but no less arresting is his "Death of Ellsworth" (c 1862). Based on newspaper reports and woodcut illustrations, Chappel's version of the Marshall House shootings is consistent with historical records. Chappel focused on four central figures and gave facial identities to the two most prominent, Ellsworth and Brownell. Jackson's image remained anonymous, as did that of Mr House, the New York Weekly Tribune reporter who followed Ellsworth down the stairs: "I think my arm was resting on poor Ellsworth's shoulder at the [fateful] moment." His eyewitness account appeared in the Tribune on June 1, 1861, and it is perhaps the best and most timely record of the horrific incident.
Alonzo Chappel, c 1862
Chicago Historical Museum |