Metropolitan impression

In my class, Violence in American Art and Culture, met at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 5/7/13. We were going to the American Civil war exhibit. The exhibition explored the role of the camera, during the civil war years 1861 - 65. The first thing i noticed when I entered the exhibition was the fact that the light was dim. I was told that they were that way to preserve the artifacts, which were mostly photographs. The first artifact that caught my eye was the first picture made after Abraham Lincoln was nominated for president. This photograph was taken by, William Marsh in 1860 May, 20th. It was weird not to see a hat on the head of Abe Lincoln yet it made me think about how he was a mere man rather than a legendary forefather of my great nation. Without his hat he seemed different. As I walked through this amazing gallery of the past, I came across an artifact that mentioned that the Civil War unofficially began on April 12th, 1861 with the Confederate artillery attack on Fort Sumter a federal fort in Charleston, South Carolina. When it ended, 750,000 Americans would be dead soon after. April 15th, 1861 President Lincoln focused his energy on acquiring and publishing negatives made by his ever-expanding team of operators, including Alexander Gardner, George Barnard, and Timothy O'Sullivan.  

Being that most of the pictures were black and white, a photo of a manservant being African American popped out to me. This photo was of a confederate captain and his manservant, taken in 1864. The photo was one of eight known images of an African American slave wearing military garb and posing with his owner. Overall I was amazed at the fact that so many pictures were available for the public to see even though they were taken over one hundred and fifty years ago.