The Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center has hired Christopher O. Uebelhor as its new director of collections and exhibitions.

Uebelhor, who served as assistant curator at the museum in 2008 and 2009, was chosen from an international field of more than 30 candidates.

Originally from Evansville, Ind., he is a graduate of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, where he received master's degrees in cultural studies (magna cum laude) and European studies (cum laude).

He found his way to Fredericksburg through the University of Mary Washington, where he received a bachelor's degree in history in 2004.

Among the first items on Uebelhor's agenda was to secure a significant donation to the museum's collections: a large-scale 1908 painting by Civil War soldier Louis Napoleon Bickleman of the 96th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry.

Bickleman fought in and survived the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, and waited more than 40 years to paint his memory of the battlefield.

"Civil War historians might look at this work and question its historical accuracy," Uebelhor said, "but it's important to remember that Bickleman was a builder by trade, who first picked up a brush in his 70s. He painted this scene from a 45-year-old memory. This only adds to the charm of the piece"

Museum CEO Ellen Killough said, "Bickleman shows Robert E. Lee atop Traveller as a central figure, but the artist seemed more interested in painting the physicality of the animals, as the attention to detail is remarkable."

The painting is a gift of Robert W. Thompson and Marilyn Vantosh of northern Maryland.

famcc.org