Battlefield of Atlanta, 22nd July, 1864, No. 2 from the album Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign
George N. Barnard
American, 1819–1902
1864
An albumen silver print by George N. Barnard that records the scarred terrain of the Battlefield of Atlanta on July 22, 1864, made as part of his Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign to document the Civil War’s devastation.
A low, battered foreground of earthworks and leaning fence posts gives way to a hollowed plain and distant treeline under a vast, cloud-filled sky, the absence of people emphasizing the landscape’s ruined quiet.
Barnard’s systematic battlefield photographs helped establish photography as a documentary witness to war, shaping contemporary and later perceptions of the Civil War and influencing the rise of documentary photography.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
10 1/16 × 14 1/8" (25.6 × 35.9 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired by exchange with the Library of Congress
Accession
409.1969.37
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
