Nashville from the Capitol
1860s
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Pfeiffer and Rogers Funds, 1970
Accession Number
1970.525 (3)
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Nashville from the Capitol is a striking albumen silver print by George N. Barnard, in the 1860s amid the tumult of the American Civil War. From the vantage point of the Tennessee State Capitol, this photograph offers a panoramic view of Nashville a key Southern city that became a Union stronghold after its occupation in 1862. Barnard's image freezes a moment of wartime transformation, showcasing the urban landscape with its spires, rooftops, and winding streets, evoking both the city's resilience and the scars of conflict. As a pioneering photographer, Barnard documented Sherman's campaign...
About the Artist
George N. Barnard · 1819–present
George N. Barnard (1819–1902) was a pioneering American photographer whose six-decade career spanned the dawn of the medium, from daguerreotypes to Civil War documentation. Born into a farming family in Coventry, Connecticut, on December 23, 1819, he lost his father at age seven and apprenticed in family businesses before marrying in 1843 and relocating to Oswego, New York. There, he launched one ...