M*A*S*H-ish 19: Gary Burghoff Art Print (1994)

M*A*S*H is frequently lauded for having a talented, ensemble cast. Many of the actors have had successful careers outside of the series with prominent roles on stage, film, and television. A few of M*A*S*H‘s actors had talents that went beyond acting. Larry Linville made teddy bears. Alan Alda has had a long interest in science and communication, and he still hosts a podcast at the age of 90! And several of M*A*S*H‘s actors were artists. Loretta Swit painted, as did Kellye Nakahara. But another M*A*S*H actor who enjoyed painting was Gary Burghoff. His wildlife paintings become popular in the 1990s and into the early 2000s, and his paintings are quite good! In this week’s post, we look deeper into Burghoff’s time as an artist, and look at a print of one of his paintings from 1994.

Burghoff was a man of many talents. He played the drums in a band, acted on Broadway in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, found his way to the big screen in Robert Altman’s production of M*A*S*H, and then television in the series M*A*S*H. As if that wasn’t enough, Burghoff also taught himself to paint. In a 2004 article in The Register Citizen, he explained that he got into art because of a high school art teacher, and later, an art instructor he met as an adult. Burghoff said, “I can say that I’m self-taught with good instruction from two great art teachers. Many professional artists can do what I do much faster, and with more technique, but part of the fun for me is discovering my own technique.” At the time the article was written, Burghoff lived in his home state of Connecticut, and a gallery in Litchfield was hosting a show of his work (unfortunately, that gallery is no longer in operation). The show featured a number of original works, but he also sold a limited run of prints. That is what I have in the collection.

The print in the collection is called “Dawn of a Generator,” and it features a painting of a duck in a tree. The print is signed by Burghoff, and it is an artist proof from an edition of prints in 1994. On the back of the frame, there is a newspaper article about Burghoff visiting Iowa and selling prints of his work, which is where this print was acquired. The print is very familiar to those who know Burghoff’s artwork because he often painted wildlife. In the 2004 interview, he said, “I paint what I love, which is North American wildlife and my children, in the environment that they live in. Basically I’ve become known as a wildlife artist, and I go back to the source…I often photograph for reference, because you can remember how beautiful and expressive a subject was, but you don’t always remember which way the fur grows, for example. I try very hard not to work directly from the photographs, but to use the elements that make me remember.” His attention to detail does show in the feathers of the duck in this print, and if you look at other works online, you will see that he painted more than just birds, but birds do seem to be a favorite of his.

As a fan of M*A*S*H, I have tried to collect items that represent the show and the actors who brought the characters to life. Linville’s teddy bears, Swit and Nakahara’s paintings, and this Burghoff print show another side to the actors we came to know through the characters they played on M*A*S*H. It adds dimension and humanity to the people who did the same for the characters we love. This Burghoff print is well executed and well documented, which are very important to me, and vital in the art world. Having the provenance of any artwork is critical, and I can trace this print back to Burghoff himself. While we may know him as Radar, Burghoff is much more. He is a man of many talents, and you can learn a lot more about his talents in his memoir, Gary Burghoff: To M*A*S*H and Back: My Life in Poems and Songs (That Nobody ever Wanted to Publish). And if you are a fan of his artwork, it does occasionally come up for sale online or at art auctions.