Refugees

May 14, 1862

Alexander Gardner, James F. Gibson

Associated Names
Alexander Gardner

Artist, American, born Scotland, 1821 - 1882

James F. Gibson

Artist, American, born Scotland, 1828

Taylor & Huntington

Publisher, American

The image shows a group of around eighteen to twenty individuals in a sepia-toned photograph. They are situated near a wooden structure with a door at the center. Some people are seated on the ground with legs crossed, while others are standing or sitting on a step or a bench. The individuals are looking towards the camera with neutral or solemn expressions. They wear long dresses, shirts, trousers, headscarves, bonnets, and hats. The background features a wooden wall made from horizontal planks and the ground appears to be dirt or possibly straw-covered. No jewelry or objects are visible, and the people are arranged closely together in a group.

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Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

Article:  Rare Early Photographs of African American Life

A large collection of personal photographs offers a glimpse of Black entrepreneurship and self-expression in the 19th and 20th centuries.


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Ross Kelbaugh, Marriottsville, MD; NGA purchase, 2023.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

along left edge of mount printed in black ink: 1861 The War For the Union. 1865; along right edge: 1861 Photographic War History. 1865; lower right: 383. A Group of "Contrabands." / [FOR DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIEW SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD.]; on verso, by unknown hand, lower right in graphite perpendicular: Gibson; by Ross Kelbaugh, lower right in graphite perpendicular: AF030F / 11.2021 RJLB [underlined]


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