[The Wilderness Battlefield]
1864
![[The Wilderness Battlefield] by Unknown](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/the-wilderness-battlefield-306607.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 5 1/16 × 2 3/4 in. (12.8 × 7 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.944.13
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the tangled heart of one of the American Civil War's most harrowing battles with *[The Wilderness Battlefield]*, a poignant 1864 albumen silver print capturing the dense Virginia forest where Union and Confederate forces clashed in May of that year. The Battle of the Wilderness, Ulysses S. Grant against Robert E. Lee, unfolded amid thick underbrush and choking smoke from wildfires ignited by gunfire, resulting in over 28,000 casualties in just two days. This stark image evokes the chaos and disorientation of combat in a landscape that swallowed soldiers whole, offering a rare visual ...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...