3 Art Pieces

The Sick Soldier By Matthew Brady 1863

The Life of Matthew Brady 1823-1895 • 1823- Matthew Brady is born in New York City • 1844- Opens first photography studio in Manhattan; calls studio the “Daguerean Miniature Gallery” • 1858- Opens second studio in Washington, D.C. • 1862- Photographs aftermath of the Battle of Antietam in On the Antietam Battlefield • 1863- A photographer in his shop produces The Sick Soldier • 1895- Brady dies in New York City

Visual Analysis 14.3 x 20.0 cm (5 5/8 x 7 7/8 in); Two Union soldiers; the sick one sits with his eyes closed; he is in pain; his friend, another soldier, stands next to him

Materials and Techniques Albumen print on paper mounted on paperboard; photographer may have instructed the two to “pose” as friends; field artists battled with heat and fragile glass in battlefields; difficult collodion process meant most pictures were of static subjects

Historical Context and Significance • During the Civil War; assistants of Brady ventured to the fields; viewers favored the objectivity of the camera. • Brought back images of war to the home.

Cañon de Chelle By Timothy H. O’ Sullivan 1873

The Life of Timothy H. O’Sullivan 1840-1882 • 1840- Timothy H. O’Sullivan is born in New York City • 1863- Photographs dead Union soldiers at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in The Harvest of Death • 1867- Joins the U.S. Geological Explorations West of the 40th Parallel • 1873- Photographs Canon de Chelle, Walls of the Grand Canon about 1200 Feet in Height (Wheeler • Survey) • 1882- O’Sullivan dies

Visual Analysis Image and sheet: 20.3 x 27.6 cm (8 x 10 7/8 in) Walls of the canyon act as a framing device; three tents indicate large scale; small rocks and trees in the foreground

Materials and Techniques Albumen print on paper mounted on paperboard; glass plate negative for a clear image; O’Sullivan faced different terrain, fragile equipment and glass plates, heat, and sand

Historical Context and Significance • Post-Civil War; time of western expansion; the public was eager for sights of the West • Confirmed truth behind majestic landscape; survey trips like O’Sullivan’s used to gather details about the environment for settlement or preservation.

The Westwood Children By Joshua Johnson 1807

The Life of Joshua Johnson 1763-1832 • 1763- Joshua Johnson is born into slavery • 1796- Becomes a free man • Late 1790s- Establishes career as a portrait painter in Boston • 1807- Paints The Westwood Children • 1824- Last year of active work • 1832- Johnson dies

Visual Analysis 104.5 x 117 cm (41 1/8 x 46 in) Three children in green outfits, white ruffle collars, and black boots; from left to right, the boys are holding cherries, one flower, and a basket of flowers; dog symbolizes the hunt

Materials and Techniques Oil on canvas Objects in boys’ hands soften their stiffness and add color; bare room helps viewer focus on the humans; flatness of picture space; painting required multiple sittings by its subjects; Johnson’s style resembles that of Charles Peale Polk

Historical Context and Significance • Slavery was legal in Maryland at this time; some free African-Americans lived in Baltimore; other self-taught artists like Johnson worked in the northeast and faced racial prejudice • Example of fine art made by an AfricanAmerican for white patrons; most black artists faced limited patronage because of racism