Civil War Regalia of Major Levi Gheen McCauley

George Cope · 1887

Medium

Oil on canvas

Original size

127 × 92.7 cm (50 × 36 1/2 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Impressionism

George Cope's 1887 trompe-l'œil masterpiece renders the Civil War keepsakes of Major Levi Gheen McCauley with such precision that the objects seem to hang from the canvas itself rather than exist within it. Cope was a Pennsylvania-born still-life painter who came of age in the long shadow of the Civil War, and he returned repeatedly to the theme of military memorabilia — medals, pistols, cartridge boxes, and kepis arranged against plain wooden boards. Working in the tradition of William Harnett, he pushed trompe-l'œil technique to a point of almost uncomfortable realism, using glazing and careful observation of light on metal and leather to create the illusion of physical depth. What sets this particular work apart is its specificity: these are not generic soldier's effects but the documented possessions of one named man, giving the painting an intimate commemorative weight. Cope painted at least a dozen Civil War trompe-l'œil compositions during the 1880s and 1890s, making him one of the few artists of the period to treat the genre as a sustained body of work rather than a single novelty piece. Our hand-painted oil reproduction on canvas faithfully replicates Cope's layered glazes and the quiet drama of his light, bringing every rivet, ribbon, and worn leather strap into the same sharp relief he achieved nearly 140 years ago.