Statement

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