Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2011.

President Lincoln on Battle-Field of Antietam

Artist Alexander Gardner (American (born Scotland), 1821 - 1882)

Publisher Philp and Solomons, Washington, D.C. (American)

CultureAmerican

DateOctober 1862, published 1866

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 6 3/4 x 8 7/8 in. (17.1 x 22.5 cm)
Overall, Support: 12 x 15 1/2 in. (30.5 x 39.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase and partial gift of Carol L. Kaufman and Stephen C. Lampl in memory of their parents Helen and Carl Lampl

Object number91.23.23

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an albumen print from GARDNER'S PHOTOGRAPHIC SKETCH BOOK OF THE WAR, Vol. 1.

Label TextAlexander Gardner American, 1821−1882 President Lincoln on Battle-Field of Antietam, 1862 From Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War Published by Philp & Solomons, Washington, D.C., 1866 Albumen print (photograph) Following the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln met with Major General George McClellan and ordered the Army of the Potomac to pursue a more aggressive strategy. Alexander Gardner followed Lincoln to Maryland to document this October 3, 1862, conference. Lincoln wrote to his wife, “General McClellan and myself are to be photographed tomorrow a.m. by Mr. Gardner if we can be still long enough. I feel Gen. M. should have no problem on his part, but I may sway in the breeze a bit.” Lincoln’s lighthearted comment referred to the height differential between the two leaders, and perhaps more seriously to McClellan’s reluctance to engage his troops in battle. Museum purchase and partial gift of Carol L. Kaufman and Stephen C. Lampl, in memory of their parents, Helen and Carl Lampl 91.23.23 Exhibition HistoryGARDNER'S PHOTOGRAPHIC SKETCH BOOK OF THE WAR, Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: Philp and Solomons, 1866). "An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., Oct. 20, 1991 - Jan. 5, 1992. "Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - March 2, 1997. "Sacred Sites, Then and Now: The American Civil War," Chrysler Museum of Art, May 1 to August 30, 1998. "The Civil War: Visual Perspectives, Then and Now," Waitzer Community Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, April 6 - July 24, 2011. "The Civil War and American Art," Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2012 - April 28, 2013; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, May 21 - September 2, 2013. "Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021.Published ReferencesGARDNER'S PHOTOGRAPHIC SKETCHBOOK OF THE WAR, VOL. 1 (Washington, DC: Philp and Solomons, 1866). Brooks Johnson, _An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1991, 125, no. 73. Eleanor Jones Harvey, _The Civil War and American Art_ (New Haven, CT: Smithsonian American Art Museum, in association with Yale University Press, 2012), 93.