"American Civil War Field Notes: Sketches from Cairo to Columbia"

If you think snapping a photo when bullets are flying is hard, try perfecting the shading on a musket with pad and pen in a fire flurry. During the Civil War, newspapers employed "Special Artists" to sketch battlefield scenes for their front pages. The work of these embedded illustrators is shown in "American Civil War Field Notes: Sketches from Cairo to Columbia." The exhibit features 30 sketches by artists such as John Hillen and Alexander Simplot, drawn during some of the Civil War's deadliest encounters. Also on display is a separate collection of rare drawings from the Battle for Vicksburg by soldier/artist Joshua Newbold, who went on to become the governor of Iowa. See how battle lines were drawn from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Through December 11. O'Kane Gallery, University of Houston-Downtown, One Main. For information, call 713-221-8042 or visit www.uhd.edu. Free.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: Oct. 9. Continues through Dec. 11, 2008