VERSO
Titled
Label, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York

American Revolution historian Alexander Clarence Flick observed that Colonel Henry Knox, then chief of artillery for the Continental Army, wrote to General George Washington on December 17, 1775, that within “sixteen or seventeen days’ time” he hoped to present him with “a noble train of artillery.” This train consisted of fifty-nine cannon and mortars seized earlier from British forces at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York. Flick noted that “owing to unforeseen difficulties it took him fifty days to convey the train from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge.” He further emphasized that “the achievement required boldness, energy, perseverance, resourcefulness, patience, and pronounced executive ability” and concluded that “the accomplishment of the expedition in the midst of a severe winter marks it as one of the heroic deeds of the Revolution.”

Reflecting on the early career of Lovell, his biographer Don Hedgpeth highlighted the significance of this painting in shaping his development and reputation: “This was a key picture for Lovell. It was his first major illustration assignment after his military service ended, and it gave him the opportunity to do a subject based upon American history. A visit to the small museum at Fort Ticonderoga provided information on the cannons and mortars. He then made clay models of the oxen team and the cannons. The setting was imaginary but in keeping with the terrain. The finished painting follows its preliminary charcoal study remarkably closely. Appropriately, the painting is now on longterm loan at the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.”

PROVENANCE
The artist, 1946
Dixon Ticonderoga Company, Jersey City, New Jersey
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, 2020
Private collection, London, England

EXHIBITED
Fort Ticonderoga Museum, Fort Ticonderoga, New York, n.d.
The Revolutionary War: Founding the New Nation, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York, 2000

LITERATURE
Famous American Paintings, U.S. Information Agency, 1960, illustrated
Earle Newton, The Vermont Story: A History of the People of the Green Mountain State, 1749-1949, Vermont Historical Society, 1949, illustrated
Carroll Vincent Lonergan, Ticonderoga Historic Portage, Fort Mount Hope Society Press, 1959, cover, illustrated
Stephen H. P. Pell, Fort Ticonderoga: A Short History, Fort Ticonderoga Museum, 1985, illustrated
Don Hedgpeth, The Art of Tom Lovell: An Invitation to History, The Greenwich Workshop Press, 1993, p. 147, illustrated
Carl R. Crego, Postcard History Series: Fort Ticonderoga, Arcadia Publishing, 2004, p. 56, illustrated
Janice E. McKenney, The Organizational History of Field Artillery, 1775-2003, United States Government Printing Office, 2007, p. 7, illustrated
Derek W. Beck, The War Before Independence: 1775-1776, Sourcebooks, 2016, illustrated
Ken Burns, The American Revolution, documentary series, PBS, 2025, illustrated

Additional Resources

• Tom Lovell’s Past Results
• View Condition Report

Condition ReportSurface is in good condition. Faint bar marks along the perimeter. Faint cracks in paint throughout the background mountain and in snow, lower left corner. Small spots of inpainting in snow lower-left quadrant.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders and reflect educated opinions, not facts. All painting frames are sold “as is.” The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.