John Blake White. “Gen. Marion in his swamp encampment inviting a British Officer to dinner.” New York: James Dalton for the American Art Union, 1840. 16 5/8 x 20 3/8 image, on 20 1/4 x 23 inch sheet. Mezzotint by John Sartain. Mended tear at bottom left, partially extending into image. Else good condition and strong impression.

A scarce and desirable historical mezzotint by John Sartain, of the well-known Sartain family of artists.  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.  A quintessentially American and historically important 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.