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New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.
Execution of the Conspirators at Washington, July 7, 1865
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.

Execution of the Conspirators at Washington, July 7, 1865

Artist Alexander Gardner (American (born Scotland), 1821 - 1882)
Publisher Harper's Weekly (American, 1825-1916)
CultureAmerican | Scottish
DateJuly 7, 1865
MediumWood engraving
DimensionsOverall, Support: 11 1/4 × 16 in. (28.6 × 40.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase, with funds provided by the Photography Alliance
Object number91.32
On View
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a wood engraving made from a photograph.

Label TextAfter Alexander Gardner American, 1821−1882 Execution of the Conspirators at Washington, July 7, 1865, 1865 Printed in Harper’s Weekly, vol. 9, no. 447 (July 22, 1865) Wood engraving (print) Working from two of Alexander Gardner’s photographs, illustrators at Harper’s Weekly created this wider view of the execution scene. The printmaker retained a number of details from the photographs, such as the various poses of the soldiers atop the courtyard wall and the angles at which onlookers tilt their umbrellas. The indistinguishable faces among the crowd, however, show that speed of reproduction was the wood engraver’s top priority. Museum purchase, with funds provided by the Photography Alliance 91.32 Exhibition History"An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., Oct. 20, 1991 - Jan. 5, 1992. "Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015.Published ReferencesHARPER'S WEEKLY, (July 22, 1865), p. 456. Brooks Johnson, _An Enduring Interest: The Photographs of Alexander Gardner_, exh. cat., The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1991, 128.