White, John Blake "Gen. Marion in His Swamp Encampment Inviting a British Officer to Dinner"

John Blake White.  “Gen. Marion in his swamp encampment inviting a British Officer to dinner.  Published by the Apollo Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in the U.S.” 

New York: James Dalton, 1840.  16 5/8 x 20 3/8.  Mezzotint by John Sartain.  Light mat burn.  Else, very good condition and strong impression.  

A rare and exquisite historical mezzotint by John Sartain, one of the well-known Sartain family of engravers.  Drawn by John Blake White, the image shows the historic meeting between the “Swamp Fox” and a British officer.  British troops in South Carolina were hard pressed by Marion and were hoping for a ‘regular’ battle in the open rather than a continuation of Marion’s guerrilla tactics.  The officer, captured by Marion, was surprised to be offered a civil and refined reception by Marion, who the British had characterized as a coarse and crude ruffian.  White’s image depicts some interesting details: the handkerchief that was used to blindfold the officer and the dinner of sweet potato that Marion invited the officer to share.  Artistically and historically a most desirable American print.

The American Art Union (1839-1851) was created to support contemporary American art and to develop a popular appreciation of it.  The AAU, organized by James Herring in 1839 as the “Apollo Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in the United States,” kept this name for its first five years.