It’s a classic Revolutionary War battle tableau — formal ranks of fearsome Redcoats square off against a ragtag bunch of… mermaids?
It’s the kind of thing one might expect from Duke Riley, the Brooklyn-based artist who produced Semper Defier, the mural that will hang above the bar at Red Hook restaurant Fort Defiance. Riley, whose work is exhibited in several museums internationally, has a signature style which “interweaves historical and contemporary events with elements of fiction and myth to create allegorical histories,” according to his artist’s bio.
Inspired by conversations between Riley and Fort Defiance owner St. John Frizell, Semper Defier (loosley) depicts the maritime aspect of the Battle of Brooklyn, August 1776, in a style reminiscent of 18th century American woodcuts, like Paul Revere’s “The Bloody Massacre” (1770).
To the right, Continental mermaids fire cannon and muskets at British soldiers. In the center of the painting, the flagship HMS Eagle is silhouetted against a cloudy nighttime sky, while the American Turtle, the world’s first combat submarine (and inspiration for Riley’s 2007 work “After the Battle of Brooklyn”) bobs in the foreground. On the mermaids’ side, a fort looms on a hillside in the distance: Fort Defiance, for which the restaurant is named.
“It’s a dream come true,” says Frizell, who met Riley at Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook some time before Fort Defiance opened in 2009. “Since we opened, I’ve been saving the space above the bar for a painting depicting the Battle of Brooklyn and the first Fort Defiance. Duke’s been a regular at Fort Defiance for years, and I’ve always been a huge fan of his work. I’m thrilled that it all came together like this.”
Semper Defier was unveiled at a reception on Wednesday, April 17, at 6pm — the first in a series of 10th anniversary events in 2019, including a Fort Defiance / Sunken Harbor Club tiki party on June 20 (the exact 10th anniversary of opening), and a commemoration of the Battle of Brooklyn in late August.
From the display above the bar at Fort Defiance: “Fort Defiance was built in Red Hook during the Revolutionary War. Its four 18-pound cannon commanded New York Harbor & discouraged the British fleet from sailing into the East River during the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776. George Washington and the Continental Army narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of the British by crossing to Manhattan in the middle of the night, just a few miles upriver from Ft. Defiance.”
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