New Nation: The Creation of the United States in Paintings & Eyewitness Accounts – The Art of Mort Künstler

Signed by the artist

The New Nation: The Creation of the United States in Paintings and Eyewitness Accounts
The Art of Mort Künstler

Text by Edward G. Lengel
Foreword by David Hackett Fischer

“Mort Künstler adds depth to our understanding of American history. We have many things to learn from his art.” — From the Foreword by David Hackett Fischer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Washington’s Crossing.

Celebrate the creation of the United States, which is brought to vivid life through the work of acclaimed artist Mort Künstler. In 2011, Künstler ignited a media firestorm when he painted a version of Washington crossing the Delaware River that many believe is a more factual representation of the momentous scene than Emanuel Leutze’s iconic work, Washington Crossing the Delaware – the most popular painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Spurred by that fierce debate, which was covered everywhere from the New York Times to ABC News, this beautiful volume presents Künstler’s artistic vision of America’s birth. The New Nation also features text by premier Washington scholar Edward G. Lengel along with quotations from Washington's contemporaries, as well as a foreword by David Hackett Fischer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Washington’s Crossing. The result is a powerful portrait of the formation of a country as it unfolded, from Jamestown to the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812.

“Mort Künstler’s paintings present a remarkable array of vivid scenes, all radiating an irrepressible aura of authenticity, while Edward Lengel’s flowing narrative provides both context and chronology. Participants become flesh-and-blood human beings… [and] the result is spellbinding. A fascinating and magnificent work of art.” — Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Dave R. Palmer, former Superintendent of West Point

“America’s illustrators are our nation’s visual historians. Mort Künstler’s art honors that tradition and vividly brings America’s history to life.” — Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director/CEO, Norman Rockwell Museum

“Through Mort Künstler’s brilliant brush, the horror, triumph, expanse and intimacy of the founding of the United States can be experienced first-hand. With this book, Künstler proves yet again that he is a modern-day marvel.” — J. J. Abrams, producer and director


Published by Sterling Publishing
Release date: October 2014
208 pages
Hardcover with jacket
10” x 9”