Steve Alpert – Contemporary American Military Paintings

Steve Alpert started out as a Landscape Painter, creating paintings about wide open spaces, perhaps, in his own words, as an antidote to having lived and worked in the crowded canyons of Manhattan for more than thirty-five years.

Having traveled a great deal throughout his life, Steve describes having image files in his mind that often show up on his canvases, in unexpected ways and at unexpected times, like a time traveler. Alpert’s Landscape paintings depict open skies, expansive seas, and broad horizons that the viewer can practically step into or imagine being within, almost in a meditative state. These paintings provide a sense of peace and serenity, for the artist and his audience alike, which Alpert says has always provided him with a profound sense of freedom.

This feeling of freedom, peace and tranquility has taken him on yet another transformational journey, as his thoughts keep coming back to the feeling of gratitude he started having and continues to have for our compatriots in uniform who have fought and died for this freedom.

Alpert never served his country in uniform. He had a high lottery number and by the time he completed college in 1973, the Vietnam War was winding down. However, through his Contemporary American Military Painting series he has found a profound way to show his gratitude to the men and women that have served to fight for our freedom. The journey and the process have come as a complete surprise to him, generating rewards he could never have imagined.

I believe my Contemporary American Military paintings are the foundation of my collection, and a reflection of a defining chapter in my life. These are paintings I feel compelled to make to raise consciousness about men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. These paintings have also created welcome opportunities for me to give back—through donations of my artwork. I have been able to directly support causes that aid the men and women of our military and their families, including the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation and Fisher House Foundation. Most recently I was honored to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Distinguished Citizen Award. –Steve Alpert

Alpert shares this journey in his book, Worth Fighting For, The Path of a Patriot, which he has co-written with Gary Cohen. As compelling a writer as he is an artist, Alpert describes how he found his mission in life through this journey, his mission being to help raise awareness for veterans and their families through the use of his art.

Worth Fighting For, The Path of a Patriot, by Steve Alpert and Gary Cohen

This journey of passion and transformation will take you along the path Steve Alpert took when he realized his core mission in life: to help raise awareness for veterans and their families through the use of his art. In trying to find meaning in his own life, Alpert goes back in time to face his choices and chance encounters that set him on a new path towards realizing his mission. Alpert visits wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC. He donates a major painting to the museum at Dover AFB as one of the members of the Carry Team practically steps out of the painting to thank him. This book will take you on an emotional roller-coaster towards the realization of your own dreams and ambitions, all while reminding you of the true power of service. This is a story about duty, honor and courage and a tribute to those who serve our nation. It reminds us that this country is still worth fighting for.

Alpert has since published another book entitled, Proudly She Served, Celebrating Women in Uniform. This is a beautiful hardcover coffee table book, exhibiting a series of twelve original oil paintings and biographies of women in uniform from all branches of the U.S. Armed Services who exemplify courage, strength, and selfless service and who inspire the generations of young women and men following them.

A Road Less Traveled

Alpert created these paintings solely because he felt compelled to raise consciousness about men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces. They were not commissioned. Traditional galleries would not likely be clamoring to exhibit them, because these are paintings that would not likely be hanging in the living rooms or bedrooms of previous clients or potential new customers.

He wasn’t quite sure what the plans may be for them, but, he would soon see that they would take on a life of their own, taking him on a journey he could never have imagined into a world he would never have known had he not created them.

Creating them was only the first step in this journey. Alpert describes hearing about a collision of two of our Blackhawk helicopters in November of 2003 over Northern Iraq, where we lost 17 people and how gutted he was to hear of this news. His immediate response was to create large paintings of Blackhawk helicopters, again, without any idea of what he would do with them.

He soon realized their mission was to raise money for organizations serving veterans. As such, he began to donate the paintings to raise funds from their sale going to charity for veterans. Over the years, Alpert’s paintings have raised over $500,000 for such organizations as the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation and Fisher House Foundation. In this month alone, (2) metal prints of Airborne All The Way were auctioned off at a Children of Fallen Patriots gala for $32K each or a total of $64K raised for the organization.

Alpert’s paintings are in the following esteemed collections: The Pentagon, Naval War College Museum, Museum of the United States Marines, Air, Mobility Command Museum, among others. He was honored to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Distinguished Citizen Award. And in 2015, Alpert’s Portrait of a Woman was on exhibition at the mansion of the Vice-President of U.S. at the Naval Observatory in Washington DC. It was then moved to the Military Women’s Memorial Museum at Arlington National Cemetery and later exhibited at Dulles and DCA airports.

But, his passion for this mission doesn’t stop there. Since starting on this journey more than 20 years ago, Alpert has met with, photographed and interviewed many veterans and their families. In 2007, he visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He has attended many Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day parades, cheering on all the men and women in uniform he meets, often buying them hot dogs or coffee to show his gratitude for their service.

Additionally, Alpert is an adjunct professor of art to veterans at Fordham University.

On Monday, May 27th 2024 at 10am, Alpert will be acting as the MC at The Quogue Fire Department Memorial Day Service, a role he has been honored to take on for about ten years now. As part of this role he will be bringing U.S. Army Chaplain Karen Meeker in from Germany to speak at the event, as well as providing his own remarks. The service is free and open to the public. The Quogue Fire Department, 117 Jessup Avenue, Quogue, New York.

And in November 2024, Alpert will be giving an original painting of General Eisenhower to the Mayor of Thionville, France on the 80th Anniversary of their liberation.

The story continues. Stay tuned for updates in future posts! Through my blog, and through Steve Alpert’s website, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.

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