Lewis & Clark Site Map

MICHAEL HAYNES

GALLERY

"Late Patrol Near Cedartown" Near the end of the Civil War wounded veterans, old men and young boys were operating as Home Guard in north Alabama and Georgia. Armed and equipped with weapons from home these men have dismounted and are preparing to advance into the woods. The young boy is drawing his fathers old Walker revolver. This scene is inspired by the stories of a fifteen year old Confederate cavalryman: my great-great grandfather Ephraim Roberts of Cedartown, Georgia.

"Fire the Field" Co. K. 3rd. South Carolina Cavalry at the Battle of Honey Hill In a desperate attempt to allow for confederate infantry to fill the crumbling defenses on a small rise to their rear known to the locals as Honey Hill, Capt. Peeples men of Co. K, 3rd. South Carolina Cavalry formed a thin line before the head of Sherman's massive "March to the Sea". Fighting off the approach of five thousand Federal troops on the morning of November 30th. 1864, Peeples one hundred troopers slowly retreated fighting as dismounted skirmishers. Though a victory, hard fought and brilliantly executed, Honey Hill only served to delay the inevitable four long, agonizing months.

"Ordway's Mast" June 4, 1804 On June 4, 1804 William Clark recorded in his journal, "Our mast broke by the boat running under a tree." Sgt. John Ordway was more specific, "Our mast broke by my steering the boat (alone) near the shore,... the mast got fast in a limb of a sycamore tree & broke it very easy." This ability to assume responsibility may have been reflective of the conscientious manner with which Sgt. Ordway seemed to execute all his duties: faithfully and fully. This incident occurred very close to present day Jefferson City, Missouri and caused a delay as the necessary repairs were made.Up until this emergency the Corps seem to have been enjoying a rare moment of sailing. Usually the massive keelboat had to be poled or cordelled up the river, a feat we can only marvel at today.

"Sacagawea's First Gift" Fort Mandan November 11, 1804 As the men of the Lewis and Clark Expedition worked steadily to complete the construction of Fort Mandan before the coming Northern Plains winter, Toussaint Charbonneau and his two wives, both of the Snake nation, came to call. They came bearing gifts of "buffalow Robes". This was most likely Lewis and Clark's first encounter with the woman who would play a significant role in the success of the Expedition. Her name was Sacagawea, and she was at the beginning of an adventure that would shape a nation.

"Meriwether Lewis Escapes Death Above Tavern Cave" May 23, 1804 Pinnacles of rock tower three hundred feet above the water at Tavern Cave. As the rest of the men explored the cave Lewis climbed up for the view. At the summit Lewis started to slide and fall. " Just short of disaster", Clark wrote in his journal," He saved himself by the assistance of his knife." One can only wonder at the fate of the expedition had Lewis plunged to his death.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Michael Haynes resides, and paints, on a small farm in Wildwood, Missouri with his wife and two daughters. After completing his art education at Auburn University in 1977 Michael returned to St. Louis and launched his freelance career full time. Since then he has been creating commissioned artwork for such clients as Anhueser Busch, Civil War Times Illustrated, Time-Life, Miller Brewing Co., Warner Books and the National Park Service to name a few. His work is represented in St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta and has won numerous awards including Addys, the Communications Arts Show in Los Angeles and The Society of Illustrators Show in New York. His work is in private and public collections in the U. S. and abroad and has been published on five continents.

A lifelong interest in history has inspired his passion for historically oriented painting and the knowledge of his subject matter has allowed him to authentically re-create these scenes. In the last fifteen years much of his free time has been spent as an historic interpreter literally living the lifestyles of his subjects for days at a time. Whether it's January's icy winds of Nauvoo Illinois, where the Mormons were expelled to Utah, or the sweltering heat of a one hundred mile march on horseback through Civil War era Virginia, Michael has relived it in accurate detail. His experience as a horse wrangler, and extra on such movies as "Glory" , "Son of the Morning Star" and "Far And Away" has given him further insight into these time periods and his "Uniform and Dress of the Corps of Discovery" paintings were selected as guides for the uniforming created for National Geographic's Imax film production on the Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West.

The value in Michael's work lies, not only in it's artistic merit, but in the exacting standards for accuracy and authenticity that go into each piece of art. These standards are self imposed. There are no individuals or groups that oversee authenticity in historic paintings and give them a stamp of approval. The inherent value in a piece of art depicting an historic event lies not only in a pleasing visual, but most importantly, a vision of what it actually looked and felt like if one had been an observer on the scene.

This commitment to accuracy can only be accomplished in one way: through researching a topic thoroughly. Michael often invests weeks or months of time in preparation for an individual painting. Because of the immense amount of research time involved, a particular scene may take years to go from the initial concept to the finished painting. This work involves studying actual artifacts from a site or time period whenever available. Primary source material such as journals and diaries or military records and period literature can set a scene in a larger context. Studying paintings and drawings from periods prior to photography help develop a sense of the styles and mannerisms that are important to give a painting its feel of "being there". An extensive and widely flung network of historians that Michael has had the pleasure of developing relationships with bring their particular knowledge to a project whenever necessary. Michael also frequently travels to the site of the original event that's being portrayed to get a feel for the surroundings, the various types of vegetation or building construction and the sense of light and mood.

An artist portraying an historic scene is only as good as the information he, and those around him, can bring to be filtered and assembled into the finished product. Michael's paintings are the sum of all these many parts. They come together in artwork that is not only beautiful to behold, but that speaks to people today with a voice confident in its knowledge of the past.