Engineer, First Sergeant
Artist
Oliver Harvey Willard
(American, 1828 - 1875)
CultureAmerican
Date1866
MediumAlbumen print with watercolor
DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 × 5 15/16 in. (20.3 × 15.1 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 × 13 in. (40.6 × 33 cm)
Overall, Support: 13 1/8 × 10 1/16 in. (33.3 × 25.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 × 13 in. (40.6 × 33 cm)
Overall, Support: 13 1/8 × 10 1/16 in. (33.3 × 25.6 cm)
InscribedThe title is inscribed below the photographic print on the mount by hand in ink: "Engineer. First Sergeant."
Graphite inscription “x1043” in the recto lower center of the mount.
PortfolioPart of a group of at least 43 images printed from wet plate collodion negatives, a commission from the U.S. Army Quartermaster General’s office to record and commemorate the variety of uniforms employed during the Civil War.
Credit LineGift of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro, in honor of Brooks Johnson, Chrysler Museum of Art Curator of Photography, 1977-2008
Object number2015.13.1
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a vintage albumen photographic print, created in 1866 from a wet collodion negative and hand-tinted with watercolor. It measures roughly 8 x 6 inches and is affixed to its original mount: a board roughly 13 x 10 inches in size, with gold coloring to the upper, right, and lower edges. The gilding and torn paper on the left side of the board suggest that this was originally bound within a volume or portfolio. The title is inscribed below the photographic print on the mount by hand in ink: Engineer. First Sergeant. It also bears the graphite inscription “x1043” in the recto lower center of the mount.Label TextOliver Harvey Willard American, 1828–1875 left to right Engineer, First Sergeant, 1866 Albumen print (photograph) with watercolor Artillery, Corporal, 1866 Albumen print (photograph) with watercolor Infantry, Sergeant, 1866 Albumen print (photograph) with watercolor These images are an example of how early photographs mingled scientific and artistic ambitions. Though they appear to be straightforward records of the uniforms used by the Union Army during the Civil War, they also display the artist’s theatrical flair. The same model strikes a different pose in each photograph, performing for the camera the roles marked by the specific uniforms. These prints were also handtinted using watercolor, adding distinctive touches that further illuminate Oliver Harvey Willard’s artistic approach. Gift of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro, in honor of Brooks Johnson, Chrysler Museum of Art Curator of Photography, 1977–2008 2015.13.1 Museum purchase 2015.13.2–.3ProvenanceGift of Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., to Chrysler Museum of Art, September 24, 2015.Exhibition History"5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019.
