Julian A. Scott (1846 – 1901) was born in Vermont and served as a Union Army drummer during the American Civil War, where he received America’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.
He was also an American painter and Civil War artist. While recuperating from an injury, Scott took up sketching vignettes of army life.
When the war was over, he traveled to Paris and Stuttgart to continue his education.
Returning to the United States, Scott traveled west as part of a census party, painting Native Americans in New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma.
Virtual Tour of Julian Scott
- Surrender of a Confederate Soldier
- A Break: Playing Cards
Highlights Tour of Julian Scott
Surrender of a Confederate Soldier
“Surrender of a Confederate Soldier” by Julian Scott depicts a wounded soldier of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War, waving a flag of surrender.
The soldier is accompanied by a black man, presumed to be the soldier’s slave, and a woman holding an infant assumed to be his wife and child.
The painting does not glorify war, and instead, it shows the suffering and human sacrifice associated with war.
Painted in the Union States of the North, this painting is part of a genre of images that depicted the emotional trauma of the South’s defeat.
The South was uncertain about its future and nervousness about the path to reconciliation between the North and South.
A Break: Playing Cards
“A Break: Playing Cards” by Julian Scott depicts a tranquil pastime between battles. Scott composed a balanced composition, arranging the flag, drum, and rifles with detailed precision.
The military uniforms show two soldiers wear the standard blue uniform of the Union Army. At the same time, the two seated figures are state militia volunteers, who wore their own uniforms.
The seated soldier at right represents a Green Mountain Brigade volunteer from Vermont. The card player in the red hat is in the Zouave costume derived from the French army’s famous battalion.
The distinctive uniforms of the Zouave units were of North African origin. It generally included short open-fronted jackets, baggy trousers, sashes, and a fez-like chéchia head-dress.
Julian Scott
- Artist: Julian A. Scott
- Born: 1846 – Johnson, Vermont
- Died: 1901 (aged 55) – Plainfield, New Jersey
- Nationality: American
- Notable works:
- Surrender of a Confederate Soldier
- A Break: Playing Cards
Julian Scott
A Virtual Tour of American Artists You Should Know
- John Singleton Copley (1738 – 1815)
- Benjamin West (1738 – 1820)
- Gilbert Stuart (1755 – 1828)
- John Trumbull (1756 – 1843)
- George Caleb Bingham (1811 – 1879)
- John Mix Stanley (1814 – 1872)
- Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816 – 1868)
- Frederic Edwin Church (1826 – 1900)
- James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834 – 1903)
- Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910)
- Mary Cassatt (1844 – 1926)
- Daniel Chester French (1850 – 1931)
- John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925)
- Childe Hassam (1859 – 1935)
- Frederic Remington (1861 – 1909)
- William McGregor Paxton (1869 – 1941)
- George Bellows (1882 – 1925)
- Edward Hopper (1882 – 1967)
- Grant Wood (1891 – 1942)
- Norman Rockwell (1894 – 1978)
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“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome.”
– Isabel Allende
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Photo Credit: 1) Julian Scott [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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