Peter Saul’s 'Return to the Alamo (2017') offers a subversive reimagining of the storied 1836 battle, where outnumbered Texan forces made a doomed stand against the Mexican army. Saul’s engagement with the Alamo draws from earlier artistic depictions, such as Henry Arthur McArdle’s romanticized 1905 painting 'Dawn at the Alamo' and John Wayne’s 1960 film 'The Alamo', both of which reinforce narratives of sacrifice and valor. Yet, in Return to the Alamo, Saul subverts these portrayals with his signature distortion and irreverence, distilling history into chaotic, cartoonish energy rather than reverential grandeur.

Rather than adhering to heroic or solemn interpretations, Saul transforms the historical event into a vivid spectacle, fusing Surrealism and Pop Art with garish hues and grotesquely exaggerated figures. His formal approach bridges the melting, elastic forms of Salvador Dalí with the frenetic brushwork of Willem de Kooning, merging the intersection of history and the visual absurd, prompting viewers to question how history is constructed, remembered, and mythologized.

“I’m interested in history, but I’m not interested in it as a narrative. I’m interested in it as a bunch of crazy stuff that happened.” – Peter Saul