CUZOR

STEVE CUZOR HENRY FLEMING'S BATTLE Dupuis 2024 Original plate no. 14. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 48 × 62 cm (18.9 × 24.41 in.) In five panels, this plate shows the gap between Henry, a young rookie, and an experienced old Southern soldier. Just look at the way the latter strides out into the moonlight, brandishing his still-warm weapon above his head, while opposite, Henry cowers in the shadows, clutching a rifle that looks as oversized as it is useless. I enjoyed writing this brief dialogue, which says more than it seems. The old Confederate asks Henry for his first name, but twice, before and after, he calls him "Yankee", thus assigning him to his identity as a Northern soldier, an adversary. It's as if he wanted to remind the young boy that this was war, the real thing, and that he was no longer there to daydream. Did he miss it on purpose? We can believe it... or not. S.C.