RESEARCH PROCESS

ARTIST STATEMENT

Artist, Dean Mosher's historical paintings have been called ‘visual novels’ because of the accuracy and completeness of the dramatic stories they tell. He starts with months of thorough research, and strips away the misinformation and romantic embellishment, to expose that the truth of great events is more powerful than any romantic fiction that could be produced. Each of his paintings portrays one of those moments where character and leadership met and changed history, providing inspiration for the generations of leaders that followed.

Mosher's dedication to historical accuracy drives him to create works no one has ever done before. He works closely with the top scholars and historians on the subject in order to intensely research and reconstruct each event, down to the very last detail. In the process of uncovering these pivotal moments in history, Mosher and his team oftentimes make a little of their own, uncovering a secret long buried, or a detail overlooked by scholars, to reveal a greater truth about John Paul Jones, the Wright Brothers, or the history of the University of Alabama.

The result of Mosher’s work is a beautifully crafted marriage of art and history painted on an epic canvas for the whole world to witness. The legacy of this kind of original research rendered as beautifully painted murals is its contribution to accurate historical records for centuries to come. Without Dean’s dedication to commemorating historical moments, many important stories would never be told and the heroes that inspire us would fade into obscurity.

HOW WE WORK
In every painting I create, my practice is to build a thorough understanding of my subject and then solicit the assistance of the finest scholars and technical authorities on the subject to ensure accuracy. As an illustration of this process, I invite you to read about the background research undertaken to create The Bishop’s Boys.

Thanks to Inventing Flight’s executive director, Madeline Iseli, I was able to bring on board in the early stages Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of the Wright Brothers, and Dawne Dewey and John Sanford of the Special Collections at Wright State University. Then by great good fortune, Dr. Tom Crouch, author of The Bishop’s Boys and Senior Curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s Air & Space Museum, joined the support team. Together they shared with me the incredible depth of understanding only they could bring to the work.

After going over thousands of pages of books, papers, correspondence, photos, maps, and technical drawings, I asked my friend Peco Foresman, who is a wonderful model maker, to begin a precise scale model of the Wright Flyer used that day and Pamela Tapia, who is pure magic with cloth and thread, to make the wing covering to match the Wrights’ patterns. Peco found and incorporated miniature chain, gears, and a motor, along with working controls for the wing warping, rudder, and canards. Then the model was suspended and positioned to be photographed from dozens of angles. The photographs were analyzed to decide on the optimum view to depict in the painting.

Following this selection, a full-scale replica of the center section of the Flyer was constructed, and reenactors were posed in period clothing, lit to match the selected model photo. Our reenactors then took to the air in a modern ultralight aircraft to give an accurate interpretation of how their clothing would react at a matching 40 mph air speed.

In order to position the proper sun shadows, a scale model of the hangar, trees, fences, and a second flyer was built based on Orville’s own map of the site. Dr. Crouch had supplied three period site maps to show pertinent features from whatever angle was chosen.

After reconciling all of the above, I began the drawings that would define the final composition. Copies of all these drawings were then sent to team members Dr. Crouch, Amanda Wright Lane, and Dawne Dewey for their consideration. Several changes were suggested, so a second overview drawing was made and sent back to ensure accuracy. When this had been approved by all the team members, I transferred the drawing to the 8' × 10' canvas and began to paint.

The painting of The Bishop’s Boys now hangs at Carillon Historical Park, Dayton, Ohio, in the Kettering Family Education Center, on loan from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.