Illustrator's portraits capture Civil War generals' personalities

Ask Jim Weren about any Civil War general and he'll tell you a story -- maybe two or three -- and likely show you a portrait he's done.

Take Ulysses S. Grant. Short, rumpled, cigar-smoking, he didn't look all that soldiery, Weren says. He was soft-spoken, queasy at the sight of blood and totally in love with his wife.

Grant resigned the Army once amid rumors of heavy drinking and proceeded to fail at several civilian ventures.

Test your knowledge Jim Weren's Civil War quiz

After the Civil War erupted, Grant wasn't immediately accepted back in the Army as field commander. But once he gained a commission, his rise was meteoric.

"He started as a colonel. A month later, he was a brigadier general," says Weren, a Naperville illustrator and Civil War buff.

"A year later, he was a major general. Three years later, he was lieutenant general and the supreme commander of the Union Army."

Weren will display his detailed pencil portraits of Grant and 35 other Civil War generals at 7 p.m. April 30 at Naperville's 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive.

Along with his drawings, he'll shares anecdotes and historical facts that highlight the generals' strengths and weaknesses. His purpose is to make the person beyond the portrait come alive.

"I've tried to impart their personalities in the face," he says.

A chance to draw

For Weren, it's a departure from his 40-year career in the Chicago marketplace as an illustrator, art director and creative director.

"I never had a chance to draw when I was a commercial artist," he says. "I was always a manager."

His choice of subject would be a surprise to his younger self. When Weren studied the Civil War in school, he learned names, dates and places with as much apathy as any other kid.

His interest was sparked some 30 years ago when he saw the movie "Gone with the Wind" while traveling through the South on business.

After leaving the commercial art world in 1990, Weren went into the hobby store business and indulged his fascination with the Civil War by reading a few hundred books about it.

His research deepened after he retired in 2000. By 2005, when he started his drawings, he had decided the generals were what fascinated him most.

Weren says they can best be described by paraphrasing the words of Admiral William Halsey, "There are no extraordinary men -- only ordinary men doing the best they can when faced with extraordinary circumstances."

So far, he's drawn 60 of the Civil War's 1,008 generals. Many of those leaders started with no military experience.

"They were characters," Weren says. "These guys were eclectic and diverse. The secret was if you could fight and you could win, you got promoted. Nobody asked any questions after that."

Real life detail

Weren gave his presentation, "The Civil War in General," last year as part of Naper Settlement's History Speaks lecture series and had a booth at the settlement's Civil War Days.

The presentation was well-attended, says Donna DeFalco, Naper Settlement's marketing coordinator.

"He's just an incredible artist and very knowledgeable about the Civil War generals. When you are done seeing his presentation, you really feel you know these generals," she says.

State Sen. Kirk Dillard recently commissioned Weren to do a portrait of Richard James "Uncle Dick" Oglesby, a Civil War general and three-term governor of Illinois. Dillard plans to hang the portrait of Oglesby, his wife's great- great-grandfather, in his Senate office in Springfield.

Although Dillard brought Weren photographs he had of Oglesby, Weren hunted up other photos and did research that went down to getting the right belt buckle.

"The level of detail the guy is into is amazing," Dillard says. "It (the portrait) is spectacular and incredibly lifelike."

The famous Civil War photographer Matthew Brady had photographed Oglesby, as well as many of the generals. But given the limitations of photography at the time, their portraits often look dull, with the subjects staring past the camera.

Weren wants their eyes to look at you and their faces to convey their character. Like that of Confederate Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton. The extremely wealthy Hampton owned huge estates and spent his entire fortune to fund his own regiment. Weren's research showed Hampton to be haughty and elitist.

"I tried to make him look like he was very proud, a very proud and sophisticated man," he says.

Weren also includes in his presentation information about women who served as Civil War nurses and surgeons, and generals' wives.

Gen. George Pickett's wife, for example, turned her lackluster husband into a hero after he died.

Weren tells the story of the little girl who persuaded Lincoln to grow a beard, and shows three portraits depicting how the war aged the Great Emancipator.

Weren does other illustrations, as well. His "Famous Foursomes" place someone you know in the company of three well-known faces, such as golf legends, billionaires or "Rat Pack" singers Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.

But, clearly, the Civil War generals hold a special place in his repertoire. Weren gives his presentations in libraries and retirement homes, charging a modest amount.

"I would just prefer to talk to people. I'm a hambone," he says.

To learn more about Weren's work, contact him at (630) 983-0290 or lnjweren@wowway.com

If you go

What:The Civil War in General

When:7 p.m. April 30

Where:95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville

Cost: Free

Register:www.naperville-lib.org or at any of the three branches of the Naperville Public Library

Info: (630) 961-4100