The Eastman Forts - Guide to the Print Set
FURTHER READINGS
Biographical information on Seth Eastman is fairly limited and relates primarily to his renditions of American Indian culture. John Francis McDermott's Seth Eastman: Pictorial Historian of the Indian (Norman: University of Illinois Press, 1973) includes some of Eastman's early sketches of military posts done while he was stationed in the midwestern part of the continent. McDermott also prepared The Art of Seth Eastman (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1959-60) to accompany a traveling exhibition of Eastman's paintings and drawings. Sketchbook, 1848-1849 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961), with an introduction by Lois Burkhalter, contains Eastman's sketches of his travels through Texas. Art and Artists of the Capitol of the United States of America (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1927) by Charles E. Fairman explains how Eastman received his commission from Congress to do the paintings.
Additional information on the forts can be found in the Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988) by Robert B. Roberts. Circular No. 4, A Report on Barracks and Hospitals with Descriptions of Military Posts (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1870), prepared by the Surgeon General's Office, and Outline Descriptions of the Posts and Stations of Troops in the Geographical Divisions and Departments of the United States (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1872), compiled by R. B. Marcy, the Inspector General, both provide contemporary descriptions of most of the forts Eastman painted. Military Reservations, National Cemeteries, and Military Parks (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904), prepared in the Office of the Judge Advocate General by 1st Lt. Charles E. Hay, Jr., provides information on acquisition and disposition of forts.