David Fertig

American artist David Fertig revives 18th-century scenes from Europe and North America in paintings that pose questions about time and history. To inform the dramatic atmosphere of his works, which frequently feature soldiers, ships, battlefields, and sites of historical interest, Fertig studies archival materials from the period, including firsthand accounts. Active since the 1960s, Fertig’s approach to painting is, perhaps surprisingly, inspired by Abstract Expressionism. Fertig applied tactile techniques favored by Ab-Ex artists, such as impasto and scumbling, to add texture and emotion to his representational paintings. His work is in many public collections in the United States, including the State Museum of Pennsylvania and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science.