Ordnance, Private
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative with applied color
Dimensions
Image: 20.2 x 15 cm (7 15/16 x 5 7/8 in.) Mount: 33.3 x 25.9 cm (13 1/8 x 10 3/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2010
Accession Number
2010.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Ordnance, Private (1866) is a poignant albumen silver print by Oliver H. Willard, capturing stoic image of a Union Army private amid the aftermath of the American Civil War. Produced just a year after the war's end, this hand-colored photograph from a glass negative exemplifies post-war portraiture, where soldiers were often depicted with their gear—here, firearms and drums symbolizing military ordnance—to commemorate service and survival. The albumen process, popular in the 19th century, yielded rich tonal depth on paper coated with egg whites, while the applied color adds a lifelike vibra...
About the Artist
Oliver H. Willard · 1775–1875
Oliver H. Willard (1828–1875) was an American photographer based in Philadelphia, where he operated O.H. Willard's Galleries at 1206 Chestnut Street..jpg) Born in Windham, Vermont, Willard established a reputation in the mid-19th century for his portraiture, particularly during the Civil War era, using techniques like salted paper prints from glass negatives and albumen silver prints. His early li...