Existing comment:
The Memorial Military Murals
"I have for several years had the ambitious desire to have a collection of mural paintings similar to those to be found in the great gallery at Versailles."
-- J. Taylor Ellyson, 1912
The Confederate Memorial Association (CMA) president, J. Taylor Ellyson, secured a $20,000 gift for the creation of a series of memorial murals that would glorify the fighting spirit of the Confederate army.
The CMA chose French artist Charles Hoffbauer, who began work on the murals in January 1913.
Although nearly completed in the summer of 1914, World War I intervened and Hoffbauer returned to France to enlist in the army. He returned to Richmond in early 1919 with wartime experience and a nuanced perspective.
Unsatisfied with the mural already done on the murals, he began a new design. His completed murals were unveiled in January 1921. |