JOHN BUXTON - LIMITED EDITIONS

A definitive portrayal, it captures all of Lincoln's humanity while reflecting our continuing awe of the man's towering achievements.  The magnificent life-size original painting hangs in a place of honor at The National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennslyvania.

This battle took place August 8, 1780 during the Revolutionary War period. The British from Ft. Detroit were supplying the natives to attack the colonists in Kentucky and elsewhere. The British built a stockade fort for the Shawnee at their village, which you can see in the upper right corner of image.

Under the leadership of George Rogers Clark, the men of Kentucky retaliated. They moved north to destroy as many Indians and villages as possible while hoping to advance on Ft. Detroit. There were a few villages and six miles of planted corn along the flatlands of the Mad River just west of today's Springfield, Ohio. This has been called the Battle of Piqua.

The scene shown is about mid-battle when Clark's men had attained a hill to the to the west of the stockade. Their six-pound cannon shelled the fort and a group of natives filed out to face-off against Clark's men.

Thirteen-year-old Tecumseh was to have lived at this village, and is shown holding the dog. George Rogers Clark's cousin, Joseph Rogers, was killed at this battle. He is depicted as the Caucasian Indian on the right side of the native hut.

The engagement was a success for Clark's bragade, who destroyed six miles of corn, disabling winter raids on Kentucky because the natives needed to hunt game for food.

The 1758 capture of Ft. Duquesne and subsequent completion of Ft. Pitt in western Pennsylvania lured many expansionist, settlers and traders to this wilderness area. Traveling normally in large groups for protection, this lone family risks misfortune but is here rewarded. A breathtaking winter morning, it's warm greeting sparkles as they prepare to follow the dream onward.

John Buxton's unique combination of detailed historical accuracy and artistic mastery brings the past to life as few others can. In Coming to Trade, Buxton portrays the co-existence between the French and Native Americans. "This painting an iconic depiction of what drew both sides to tolerate the other in what came to be known as the fur trade," Buxton says. "Furs from the new world helped finance French expansion and trade items enhanced the living standard of the native nations. Bows and arrows were no longer the preferred hunting method and French cutlery replaced stone axes and knives. Cooking pots, needles and even wire soon became highly prized among the Indians as they became slightly more European. French traders, many of whom lived among the Indians, changed as well. They readily accepted native culture and custom-to the extent that it was difficult to distinguish a Frenchman from his native ally. Though they tried, Jesuit priests were not quite as successful at transforming natives into cultured, God-fearing Frenchmen."

Who could this person be? He is alone and has stopped on his water route long enough to build a fire, have a bit to eat and drink, maybe even to dry items that have gotten wet along the way.

This is the 18th century-somewhere. Is he English. or their enemy, the French? We cannot see enough of his flintlock to tell if it is of French or English design. He appears to be a trader, but doesn't have much with him. The cloth near his leg reveals his goods: silver trade items. His pistol is fully cocked; is he fearful? He has no furs and his Algonquin canoe isn't large enough for many anyway. His mismatched paddles might have come from two different Indian tribes.

Could this man be the English trader, John Frasier, as he escaped downriver from the French soldiers at Venango-his trading post on the Allegheny River-in 1752? The French had come down from what is now Canada into the Ohio Valley, along the Allegheny River, to rid the region of English influence. They confiscated Frasier's trading post and a blacksmith shop. Fraser lost all his trade goods but escaped capture.

The officer who appears in both A Daughter's Touch and Fatherly Advice is in the 60th Royal Americans during the French and Indian War period. The group was made up of Europeans who came to the colonies circa 1755.

In Fatherly Advice, the officer advises a pair of sons.  Are the two young men in Fatherly Advice learning strategies of war, or is he possibly sharing a life lesson?  Buxton left the specific stories to the viewer's imagination.

No single document captures the American spirit better than the Declaration of Independence. John Buxton invites you to witness history as writer Thomas Jefferson reviews his first draft with the committee of Franklin, Adams, Sherman and Livingston, and they share with him their immediate reaction. They are shown here in Jefferson's rented room in the Graff House (located at Seventh and Market in Philadelphia), where his guiding vision was instrumental in developing the cornerstone of our government. Standing (left to right) are Robert Livingston (NY), Roger Sherman (CT), Thomas Jefferson (VA), and John Adams (MA), with Benjamin Franklin (PA) seated at the table.

"The General and Madame came home on Christmas Eve, and such a racket the servants made, for they were glad of their coming!" That lively account of George and Martha Washington's post-war return to Mount Vernon was one of many contemporary sources John drew upon to bring this stirring scene to life. "I went to Mount Vernon in winter," he says, "and shot many rolls of film at every hour of the afternoon, looking for the most dramatic light. The roof is white now, but back then the shingles were red, so for a visual counterpoint I took the liberty of giving Washington a bold red manteau. You'll notice there are no wreaths, candles or other festive display to greet the general this Christmas Eve. Decorating for the holidays did not become an established American tradition until the 19th century."

“It’s pretty common to see things written about the conflicts between the Native Americans and the settlers,” says John Buxton, “but friendships must have developed as well. Living on the frontier, they had to get along and trust one another in order to survive.”

An intimate expression of this Native American's respect and harmony for the land.

Buxton has left something to the viewer's imagination in Kinsman to the Shawnee. What are the two men discussing and what is the native girl with flint corn and a grinding stone thinking?

In No Sign of Hostiles, Buxton portrays the tenuous coexistence between the original inhabitants of this new nation and the encroaching Europeans. "Although loyalties and friendship did exist between some, there were always those allied to other interests - waiting to do harm," says Buxton. "No one was exempt from sudden harassment or deadly force, and groups took advantage of hit and run tactics - striking with surprise. An ambush of the unsuspecting often resulted in quick plunder, hostages taken and a bloody aftermath. If enough men could be gathered before their trail cooled, the raiders would be tracked. Some of these pursuits terminated in another ambush, while occasionally the tracking became too difficult and the trail was lost, as shown in this painting."

If the enemy pursue your rear, take a circle till you come to your own tracks, and there form an ambush to receive them, and give them the first fire. If your number be small, march in a single file, keeping at such a distance from each other as to prevent one shot from killing two men.

These are just two of a list of fighting techniques and methods known as Rogers' Ranging Rules, compiled by Robert Rogers in the mid-1750s. Many of his tactics are still practiced by the US Army today.

In this painting by John Buxton, it is the summer of 1759, and France and Great Britain are locked in their final struggle for supremacy in North America. A scouting party led by the famous Robert Rogers pauses atop Mount Pelee, overlooking Lake George, on its way to observe French activity at Fort Ticonderoga. British General Jeffrey Amherst relies heavily on intelligence provided by his intrepid American Rangers as he prepares his offensive against the French.

Once the Rangers' proficiency was recognized, they became Independent Companies on the Regular British Establishment, and they were paid for by the Crown. Their dress was a distinctive combination of military, frontier, and native styles, and they practiced then-unconventional tactics. The Rangers are accompanied by Royal Artillery Lieutenant Thomas Davies, whose artistic efforts left us a valuable record of colonial America. A member of Rogers' Stockbridge Indian Companies accompanied him in this mission. He was subject to Ranger discipline, but wore native dress and served under his own Indian officers.

In the winter of 1753, a young Major George Washington was sent to Western Pennsylvania to deliver a message to French forces. A return message from the French to the British was entrusted to Washington to be delivered to Williamsburg, Virginia.