Like other forms of fashion, styles of facial hair come and go. Today, beards are back -- and a history museum in Richmond is celebrating by pairing modern-day men with Civil War generals who look something like them in an exhibition called “Beard Wars.”
The Show at Richmond’s Valentine History Center features photos of union and confederate generals, side by side with members of the RVA Beard League - a philanthropic group that celebrates whiskers.
“Some of the portraits are really dead on in terms of replicating the pose and the gaze and the style of the Civil War general.”
Curator Meg Hughes says some modern day models found other things in common with the military men they chose from the Valentine’s archive.
We have Brigadier General Patrick Moore who lived in Richmond and has a facial hair style called friendly muttonchops, and the Beard League Member that is paired with General Moore is Patrick Quinn, and he was really excited because he’s from the Richmond area as well, his first name is Patrick, and he sports the friendly muttonchop style as well.
League members were photographed by Richmond’s Terry Brown, who did her best to underscore resemblance, but couldn’t do much for a couple of women who wanted to be part of the program.
“There is a group within the league called the RVA Beard League Whiskerinas, and they are female members who create artificial beards - one using bells and one using pipe cleaners. We also have another whiskerina beard itself that’s made out of shotgun shells.”
The show, which runs through November, also features antique mustache cups, shaving mugs and razors along with a picture of General Ambrose Burnside for whom the side burn is named.
