The Politics and Poetry of New England
Artist
Alexander Gardner
(American (born Scotland), 1821 - 1882)
CultureAmerican
Date1863
MediumAlbumen
DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (22.2 x 17.1 cm)
Overall: 11 1/4 x 7 7/8 in. (28.6 x 20 cm)
Overall: 11 1/4 x 7 7/8 in. (28.6 x 20 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds provided by Mrs. Alice Frank
Object number91.22
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an albumen print depicting a meeting between the Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner and the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Label TextAlexander Gardner American, 1821−1882 The Politics and Poetry of New England, 1863 Albumen print (photograph) Senator Charles Sumner (1811−1874) of Massachusetts sits on the left, facing his old friend, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807−1882). Lincoln deeply admired both of these men for their talents and political convictions. The president often quoted Longfellow, whose Poems on Slavery (1842) were an important tool for the abolition movement. Sumner, a leading antislavery voice on Capitol Hill, became one of Lincoln’s most trusted advisors and allies. This portrait of two prominent national figures was one of the top-selling photos available at Alexander Gardner’s Washington, D.C., gallery. Museum purchase, with funds provided by Mrs. Alice Frank 91.22 Exhibition History"An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va, October 20, 1991--January 5, 1992. "Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997. "Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015.Published ReferencesD. Mark Katz, WITNESS TO AN ERA: THE LIFE AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF ALEXANDER GARDNER; THE CIVIL WAR; LINCOLN; AND ATHE WEST (NY: Viking, 1991), P. 72 Ill. Brooks Johnson, _An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1991, 132, no. 231.
Julian Vannerson
February 19, 1853
