John Wood: United States Capitol Photographer (1856-1864)
January 13, 2021
Video
John Wood, The Inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, March 4, 1861, salted paper print, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-07636
About the Program:
This talk explored the work of this virtually unknown early American artist, highlighting his time at the Capitol and his brief assignment to General George B. McClellan during the Civil War. As the first United States’ federal government photographer, John Wood was uniquely positioned to capture the construction of Capitol Extension and Dome but also key events on its grounds, including two presidential inaugurations, James Buchanan (1857) and Abraham Lincoln (1861). Wood’s images were often distributed to garner political and financial support for these large public works projects. In keeping with their use, Wood framed his works as both documentary and as a means of capturing the Emersonian ideals of America as a place of, “beginnings, of projects, of designs and expectations.”
Speaker
Adrienne Lundgren, Senior Photograph Conservator
