1863

Artist Fred Wilson (American, born 1954)

Date2006

MediumArchival inkjet with glassine overlay

DimensionsOverall, Image: 26 1/4 × 34 in. (66.7 × 86.4 cm)

ClassificationsWorks on Paper

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number2020.23.1

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is a lithographic print on paper depicting a view of the encampment of the Sixth Regiment Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, in Suffolk, Virginia during the Civil War. The troops are shown in a line in front of the camp. A glassine overlay covers the work with a tiny cut out on the far left side that reveals an African American woman handing laundry. Key below image identifies the following: 1. Col. Follansbee's & Field and Staff Officers' Quarters; 2. [Camp of the] Mass 7th Battery Capt. Davis; 3. Fort Halleck; 4. Line Officers' Quarters; 5. Commissary; 6. Battery Mass; 7. Fort Union; 8. Fort McClellan; 9. [Camp of the] 13th Indiana Regt.; 10. Petersburg R.R.; 11. Breastworks.
Label Textleft Printed by John Henry Bufford American, 1810–1970 Camp of Massachusetts Sixth Regiment, Vols., Suffolk, VA, 1863 Multi-stone lithograph Museum purchase 2020.23.2 right Fred Wilson American, born 1954 1863, 2006 Archival inkjet with glassine overlay, edition of 35 Museum purchase 2020.23.1 Both of these prints depict the Civil War camp of the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment in Suffolk, VA. One was created during the war, while the other is much more recent. Why might a contemporary artist revisit a historical print? Northern printmakers produced Union Army camp scenes in the Civil War to offer visual records for those following their loved ones’ actions from afar. Over a century later, artist Fred Wilson reframes the same image, highlighting the invisibility of contributions by women and African Americans during this time. The frosted overlay covers the scene, with a small hole at the left-side calling attention to an African American laundress. Looking at details often reveals long ignored or forgotten aspects of history.