Captain Alfred Ransom and Child
c. 1865–1866
Medium
albumen print (carte-de-visite)
Dimensions
image/sheet: 8.6 × 5.4 cm (3 3/8 × 2 1/8 in.) mount: 10.1 × 6.1 cm (4 × 2 3/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Funds from Robert B. Menschel and the Vital Projects Fund
Accession Number
2022.174.19
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
**Captain Alfred Ransom and Child (c. 1865–1866) is a touching carte-de-visite photograph by the studio of Wagoner & McDonnald, capturing a Union Army captain tenderly holding his young child. Produced at the close of the American Civil War, this intimate portrait reflects the era's widespread desire to commemorate military service and family bonds amid national healing. The albumen print process, using egg white-coated paper sensitized with silver salts, yields the image's characteristic warm tones and fine detail on this diminutive 8.6 × 5.4 cm card—perfectly sized for the carte-de-visite c...