by J. Mack Dent

"True Gentlemen:
The Founding Fathers of  Sigma Alpha Epsilon”

Signed art reproduction••• Edition Size: 16" x 20" ••$115 (Flat rate shipping charges will be added)

Smaller prints now available
Edition Size: 11.75" x 8.75 " •• $35 (Flat rate shipping charges will be added)

In the autumn days of 1855, a few close friends walked along the banks of the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa Alabama. They spoke of their friendship and their desire to perpetuate it in a fraternity. In the late hours of a stormy night, on March 9, 1856, seven friends met in an old schoolhouse and by the flicker of dripping candles founded Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Alabama.

In 2006 Sigma Alpha Epsilon celebrates the 150th year since that event. I pledged SAE at the University of Florida in September of 1952 and my grandson and three of his closest friends at the University of Georgia and Wofford College became Sons of Minerva in 2005! Those events and the sesquicentennial celebration inspired me to perpetuate our bonds of friendship with all the "True Gentlemen" in our noble order on this very special anniversary! I finally did something I have wanted to do for 52 years! I have  drawn the Founding Fathers using portraits in the Phoenix, in a setting  that told the story with the symbols of our fraternity and the furnishings of 1856. To commemorate the 150th anniversary, I am sharing this very special work in the hopes that my fraternity brothers everywhere , all True Gentlemen, enjoy what has been a fun and fullfilling "journey" for me. The limited  edition prints are signed and numbered on 80 # archival paper. A handsome book with the Coat of Arms on the cover tells the story and  the biographies of the founders. Framed prints can be ordered by request. Phi Alpha!