RIP Mort Künstler

 

Mort Künstler, hailed as America's most prominent historical artist, dies at 97

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By C.S.

February 4, 2025

Artist. During a career which spanned seven-decades, he will perhaps be remembered for his realistic and detailed paintings of the Civil War. Born into a European Jewish family (some sources state date of birth as 1931), his interest in drawing was sparked during his youth. While attending Brooklyn College, he focused on sports and excelled in football, track & field and swimming which led to a scholarship to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). However, after his father suffered a heart attack, Mort returned home where he enrolled at the Pratt Institute to resume his artist interest. An excursion to Mexico on a motorcycle with a classmate, led to further experience painting and after graduation, he landed a position at Neeley Associates Illustration Studio as an apprentice. He became a freelance artist and found work for various men's adventure magazines, in addition to artwork for paperbacks. This led to opportunities with The Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic Magazine. During the 1970s, he produced movie posters for the motion pictures The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Taking of Pelham, One Two, Three (1974). His Civil War artwork became official US Postage Stamps during the 1990s. In 2011, his portrayal of George Washington crossing the Delaware River was unveiled. His works are displayed in museums nationwide, as well as in Canada and Europe.

KUNSTLER, Mort

Born: 8/28/1927, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

Died: 2/2/2025, Rockville Centre, New York, U.S.A.

 

Mort Künstler’s westerns – artist:

Breakheart Pass – 1975 [poster artist]

The Making of Gettysburg – 1993 [paintings]