[The Wilderness Battlefield]
1864
![[The Wilderness Battlefield] by Unknown](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/the-wilderness-battlefield-306614.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 4 3/4 × 3 1/8 in. (12.1 × 8 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
2005.100.944.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the somber aftermath one of the American Civil War's fiercest clashes with *[The Wilderness Battlefield]*, a poignant 1864 albumen silver print capturing the tangled devastation of the Battle of the Wilderness. Fought in May of that year between Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate led by Robert E. Lee, this encounter in Virginia's dense underbrush marked a turning point, as Grant pressed southward despite heavy losses. This small yet evocative image (4 3/4 × 3 1/8 in.) offers visitors a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the war's grim reality, preserved by an unknown phot...
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...