Alexander Pope (American, 1849-1924). <em>Emblems of the Civil War</em>, 1888. Oil on canvas, 54 3/16 x 51 1/8 in. (137.6 x 129.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors, 66.5 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.5_SL1.jpg)

Alexander Pope (American, 1849-1924). Emblems of the Civil War, 1888. Oil on canvas, 54 3/16 x 51 1/8 in. (137.6 x 129.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors, 66.5 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.5_SL1.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

This looks so real.

Alexander Pope was known during his lifetime for his paintings of animals and game birds, but he is remembered today for his group of trompe-I'oeil "trophy" paintings.

"Trompe l'oeil" means "fool the eye." He painted these objects in an illusionistic manner -- they look very real, almost as though we could touch them. Look closely at some of the details and textures!

He may have been thinking of the tradition of hanging memorabilia of the Civil War in one's home -- the weapons and possessions of family members who fought in the conflict.

Tell me more about this.

What a detail! This collection of objects stands in as a portrait of their owner, a soldier for the Union, or the North, in the US Civil War.

The key is labeled "Libby Prison," a Confederate prison that was in Richmond Virginia that was the site of wartime atrocities. This key was presented to Major General William B. Tibbits, whose family commissioned this painting, as a memento by Union General Daniel Sickles.

Cool! Thanks!

You're welcome!

Emblems of the Civil War

Alexander Pope

American Art

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Nations Divided, 1860–1910

Twenty years after the Civil War, a rising wave of curiosity and nostalgia accompanied the gradual passing of a generation of veterans. Memorial still lifes—which recorded actual objects related to the war in artificial, ceremonial arrangements—revived the lessons of the conflict while suggesting its gradual recession into the past. Alexander Pope here arranged the military mementos of Major General William Tibbits (died 1880), of the Union army’s Second New York Cavalry. They include a Confederate bullet on a string and a key to Libby Prison, a site of Confederate atrocities.

ARTIST Alexander Pope, American, 1849-1924

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DATES 1888

DIMENSIONS 54 3/16 x 51 1/8 in. (137.6 x 129.8 cm) frame: 66 11/16 x 63 5/8 x 2 3/4 in. (169.4 x 161.6 x 7 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed lower right: "ALEX--POPE--88 / --BOSTON--"

INSCRIPTIONS Inscribed on calling card lower left: "Mr. Alexander Pope"

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 66.5

CREDIT LINE Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Nations Divided, 1860–1910

CAPTION Alexander Pope (American, 1849-1924). Emblems of the Civil War, 1888. Oil on canvas, 54 3/16 x 51 1/8 in. (137.6 x 129.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, Governing Committee of The Brooklyn Museum, and Anonymous Donors, 66.5 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 66.5_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 66.5_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.