George N. Barnard
(Coventry, Connecticut, 1819 - 1902, Cedarvale, New York)
The Battle Field of Peach Tree Creek, GA
From the series "Photographic Views Of Sherman's Campaign"
1864-1866
Albumen print
12 x 15 in. (30.5 x 38.1 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of the Mary S. and Louis S. Myers Family Collection
1981.14.34
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Today George Barnard is best known for his self-published album 'Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign',1866. The museum owns an entire album, of which only one hundred to one hundred fifty copies exist. These photographs were made during the Civil War in 1864-65, and throughout the following year. The images form a sequence following the Union Army's advance to Atlanta, with concluding views of the decimated cities of Savannah, Columbia, and Charleston. This image's power stems not from its depiction of a violent event, but rather its ability to capture the moody stillness of the devastating aftermath.