My first painting of General Petraeus was done in 2004. I saw a review of the book by Rick Atkinson called In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson, in the New York Times book review section. It spoke of the General's question to Atkinson, "Tell me how this ends?" I was impressed by Petraeus and decided to paint a portrait of him. This picture shows the General when he was a two-star General in Iraq and Commander of the 101st Airborne Division. To the right of the General's shoulder I painted a gun and a wing. I liked the General's question. It seemed not only thoughtful but prescient. At that moment, I started to paint the war in Iraq. I became aware that no painter I knew or anyone else was painting the story of this event.

I have been painting for 50 years and would describe myself as an Expressionist. That is, I paint with a weird combination of abandon and discipline. In 2007 I painted another portrait of the General. This one is entitled, "Et Tu, Petraeus?"

Leonard Rosenfeld
October 4, 2007

Selected Exhibitions

2007 President's Gallery LaGuardia Community College Gallery

2007 311, New York City ('Et tu, Petraeus?')

2006 311 West 100th Street Gallery, New York, New York

2005 Coalition for the Homeless Benefit Small Works Show
Merz Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York (group show)

ARTWALK, NY, New York, New York (Auction conducted by Sotheby’s; hosted by Candice Bergen)
Viridian Artists, New York, New York (two group shows)

2004 Corridor Gallery, New York, New York
Galeria Corona, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

2003 Coalition for the Homeless Benefit Retrospective
ARTWALK NY, New York, New York (Auction conducted by Sotheby’s; hosted by Peter Jennings)

2002 ARTWALK NY, New York, New York (Auction conducted by Sotheby’s;
hosted by Charlie Rose)
Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
"Art from Detritus,” John Jay College, New York, New York

2001 ARTWALK NY, New York, New York (Auction conducted by Sotheby’s; hosted by Peter Jennings)

2000 ARTWALK NY, New York, New York (Auction conducted by Christopher Burge of Christies’; hosted by Peter Jennings)

1999 Leonora Vega Gallery, New York, New York
ARTWALK NY, New York, New York (in live auction conducted by Christopher Burge of Christie’s)

1998 Goldstrom Gallery, New York, New York

1997 ARTWALK NY, New York, New York

1996 Henry Street Settlement, New York, New York

1995 Michael Kisslinger Gallery, New York, New York
NY Soho Biennial, New York, City
NatWest Bank, New York, New York
ARTWALK NY, New York, New York
Massman Gallery (Rockhurst College), Kansas City, Missouri
Eleven East Ashland Independent Art Space, Phoenix, Arizona

1991 The Knitting Factory, New York, New York

1989 The Knitting Factory, New York, New York

1988 The Robert Kidd Gallery, Detroit, Michigan
Casa Del Lago (University of Mexico), Mexico City

1986 Central Falls, New York, New York

1983 Kenkaleba House, New York, New York

1982 OK Harris Gallery, New York, New York
The Race Street Gallery (with OK Harris), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1981 OK Harris Gallery, New York, New York
Grant, Edna St. Vincent Millay Art Colony, Austerlitz, New York

1980 OK Harris Summer Invitational

1978 The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
Jacques Seligman, New York, New York

1976 Gloria Cortella, New York, New York

1975 The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1965 Martha Jackson, New York, New York

1963 Stryke Gallery, New York, New York

1959 Waverly Gallery, New York, New York

"Leonard Rosenfeld has consistently shown broad, inventive powers and a mature ability to integrate diverse and seemingly conflictive elements and images."
Ivan C. Karp (February 1995)