Maitre Raymond Desvarreux Larpenteur, born in Paris, France, June 16, 1876 and died December 17, 1961 at the age of 85. His father, James Desvarreux Larpenteur, also a well known artist, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, October 20, 1847. Young Desvarreux lived in America and traveled extensively with his father before returning to France. M. Raymond Desvarreux, an official artist of the Ministere de Guerre and of the Musee de l'Armee (Invalides), Paris, where more than 300 of his uniform and battle canvasses have been acquired for the National Collection.

Aficionados in the field of Military dress have long ranked him with Charlet, Messionier and Vernet. Others who influenced the emergence of his distinctive style were Paul Philippoteaux, known to millions of Americans for his cyclorama at Gettysburg, and Edouard Detaille (la Salle Detaille in the Invalides, Pantheon, etc.) under each of whom he studied. Early in his career M. Desvarreux was one of the four military art specialists chosen to create the spectacularly lifelike panorama at Waterloo, a large circular sweep of the battle, terrain and uniformed men, and is so honored on the plaque below the Butte du Lion. In the Great War, (World War I) he was a soldier-artist with the French, British and American Armies. Most noteworthy among the many distinctions conferred on him was the gold Medal 1st class of the Societe Francaise, a Laureateship in the Academy Francaise, and the Legion of Honor. He was decorated by four other nations.

Maitre Desvarreux painted the original oil paintings on 10.5"x16" wood panels in Paris, France in the mid 1950's. He did the paintings exclusively for Alfred "Uncle Red" B.C. Batson. M. Desvarreux was nearly 80 years of age when he painted these remarkable paintings. Extensive research for each painting was made through books, museums, diaries and private collections, etc. The original oil paintings were then brought to America by Alfred Batson and some were reproduced by the best American craftsman - lithographers. Today we offer you our open edition prints on rich natural woven paper with a descriptive title below the painting. M. Desvarreux, as a perfectionist, gave his enthusiastic approval to Alfred Batson for the exclusive reproductions of each painting. Batson settled in Valley Forge, PA and died in 1977. Since then, his entire collection has been well preserved. Today this collection of historic art is distributed by Alfred Baton's nephew, David Vanderslice.

©Alfred B.C. Batson & ©David R. Vanderslice.