Raising Column at Capitol Expansion
November 6, 1860
Medium
salted paper print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 32.8 × 26.4 cm (12 15/16 × 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Funds from Ronald M. Costell, M.D. and the Estate of Marsha E. Swiss
Accession Number
2025.44.24
Art Historical Context
Captured on November 6, 1860, *Raising Column at Capitol* by John Wood offers a vivid snapshot of one of America's most ambitious architectural projects: the expansion of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. salted paper print depicts workers hoisting a massive column into place, part of the grand neoclassical additions designed by Thomas U. Walter. The image freezes moment of national optimism amid growing tensions, coinciding exactly with Abraham Lincoln's election—the same day this photograph was dated—foreshadowing the Civil War that would soon test the young republic's unity. As an early...