The Story Behind These Prints

The story behind these prints

These prints are made from original oil paintings by the Paris artist Raymond Desvarreux, commissioned in the mid-1950s by my uncle, Alfred B.C. "Red" Batson. Lithographs were struck from the originals and sold during America's Bicentennial in 1976. I own the original paintings and hold the copyrights — every print I sell comes from them.

My uncle lived an extraordinary life. As a young man he was a mercenary in South America — I still have the framed Nicaraguan wanted poster offering $1,000 for his capture for aiding Juan Sacasa's revolt. Ordered to get out, he and a friend walked back to America through Mexico and Central America. He later reported from Shanghai, met his future wife at the Pentagon (her photograph with Eisenhower is in the family), ran a prominent bookstore in 1950s Paris — where he and Desvarreux became close friends — and finally settled in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where he began selling these prints.

Every print carries that history with it.