Wagon Park, Brandy Station, Virginia
May 1863
Medium
Albumen print, pl. 64 from the album "Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, Volume II" (1866)
Dimensions
Image/paper: 17.7 × 22.9 cm (7 × 9 1/16 in.); Album page: 31.2 × 44.7 cm (12 5/16 × 17 5/8 in.)
Classification
photograph
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196306
Art Historical Context
Captured in May 1863 by pioneering photographer Timothy O'Sullivan,Wagon Park, Brandy, Virginia* offers a stark glimpse into the logistical backbone of the Union Army during the American Civil. This albumen print, plate 64 from Alexander Gardner's landmark *Photographic Sketch Book of the War, Volume II* (1866), depicts rows of supply wagons amassed at Brandy Station—a key Virginia crossroads that would soon host the war largest cavalry clash in June. O'Sullivan, who began his career with Mathew Brady's studio, ventured into battlefields to document the unvarnished realities of conflict, far b...
About the Artist
Timothy O'Sullivan · 1840–1882
Timothy H. O'Sullivan (c. 1840–1882) emerged as one of America's pioneering photographers during a transformative era. His early life remains sparsely documented, with records suggesting he was born either in New York City or Ireland before immigrating young, possibly growing up on Staten Island. As a teenager, he apprenticed under Mathew Brady at his Fulton Street gallery in New York, mastering w...