13-Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Gettysburg Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (
The death toll of the American Civil War, estimated at well over half a million, was unprecedented. A major new exhibition drawn from archives at The Huntington Library, in recognition of the 150 year anniversary of the conflict, explores how the nation came to terms with the devastation.
The evocative compilation of historical images, called “A Strange and Fearful Interest,” is named after a statement made by Oliver Holmes in 1863—“The field of photography is extending itself to embrace subjects of strange and sometimes of fearful interest.” Highlights of the visual presentation include Alexander Gardner’s views of battlefield dead at Antietam, rare photographs from Andrew J. Russell’s “U.S. Military Railroad Album,” George Bernard’s incomparable album “Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign (1866)” and more. “A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War” is curated by Jennifer Watts and will be on display from October 13, 2012 until January 14, 2013.
Also on display is the companion exhibition, “A Just Cause: Voices of the American Civil War.” This show of letters, which explores the rationale for the war, is curated by Olga Tsapina and on display through January 7, 2013.
"A Strange and Fearful Interest" Exhibit Info
Guests:
Jennifer A. Watts, curator of photographs and the exhibition “A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War”at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino
Olga Tsapina, curator of american historical manuscripts and the exhibition “A Just Cause: Voices of the American Civil War”at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino