The artwork of American artist Don Troiani has admirers around the world, and his Don Troiani's Civil War was a bestseller. With the new book Don Troiani's Soldiers in America 1754–1865 due shortly we excerpt background to Troiani and his work from its Foreword: 'Born in New York City in 1949 and raised in suburban Westchester County, Don Troiani admits to being captivated by military history "as long as I can remember". "My first efforts at military art began as soon as I had crayons", he recalls. "I always wanted to draw soldiers and would not be swayed from it." His father, a successful commercial artist, encouraged his son's obvious talent. His mother, an antiques dealer, nurtured his curiosity about the artifacts and memorabilia of past generations. Thus a fusion of art and artifact – central to Don Troiani's creative process – was ingrained from his earliest youth. By the time he began perfecting skills at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and New York City's Art Students League, Troiani had already decided to make the field of military art his life's work. "America's history is filled with action, color and excitement," he says. "It is certainly a valid subject for an artist to pursue as long as it is approached in a thoughtful and thorough way." Though Troiani is primarily known for his Civil War art, and he concedes that, so far as the public is concerned, that bloodiest of American conflicts "is more popular than all the earlier periods put together", he also maintains a long-standing interest in Colonial and early nineteenth-century military history. "That entire first century of American soldier life fascinates me," he explains. "People think of me as a Civil War artist, but I feel equally at home in the American Revolution or the War of 1812." "I think of myself as a historian as much as an artist," Don Troiani says. "The illustrations in this book aren't just paintings; each figure is a visual document, an accurate historical reconstruction of an individual soldier of a specific unit at a specific time." Noting that diligent research in archival, museum, and private holdings is an absolute prerequisite to his craft, Troiani believes that for a historical artists to settle for less reveals a lack of interest – even disrespect – for the subject. Research for a Troiani painting typically begins five or six years before the first brushstroke is put to canvas. His studio office contains hundreds of files on individual military units: their history, uniforms, and armament. At any one time, perhaps two dozen of these will be potential subjects for a painting, but Troiani will tackle the subject only when he feels his research is as complete as possible. "There are many paintings I would like to do, but don't have quite enough information to get it right," he explains. "I'd rather keep the file open indefinitely than paint by guesswork." Another key ingredient in Troiani's art is his personal collection of militaria. "You can look at a picture of an artifact for days and still not know it" he says. "But examining it in your own hands reveals its texture, its substance, and how it works." His personal storehouse of uniforms, weapons, and accoutrements ranks as one of the most extensive of its kind in the world. While most of the weapons in his paintings are originals, the fragile nature of century-old textiles required a military wardrobe of reproduction clothing, headgear, knapsacks, and other soldier trappings, especially reconstructed to Troiani's exacting specification. In preparation for Soldiers in America, these meticulous recreations of period attire were used to garb a small army of models, who were themselves hand-picked by Troiani for their physical build, facial expression, and overall bearing. "I try to pick models who represent a character type of a particular era," he says. "I try to make each figure a portrait. They have to look like real people not mannequins." Don Troiani's Soldiers in America examines the diverse range of troops to have made an impact on American history, from native American warriors in the Seven Years War, British Redcoats in the War of Independence and Canadian militiamen in the War of 1812, to Mexican infantry in the Mexican War of 1848, and Union and Confederate troops in the Civil War. The superbly detailed and meticulous artwork of Don Troiani is supported by incisive text and contemporary accounts to establish just what was worn and used in battle, making this book an essential, and beautiful, reference work for military uniforms. It has seventy five colour and one hundred and eighty seven black and white illustrations. This luxury tour of America's military past is a brilliant combinaton of the best illustrations and the best writing on this varied and colourful era. The book is published by Stackpole Books in the United States, and distributed internationally by Greenhill. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 86 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com