A Bit of War History: The Contraband
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File Name |
ART321882.jpg |
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Creator |
Wood, Thomas Waterman (1823-1903) |
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Title |
A Bit of War History: The Contraband |
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Alternate Title |
Wood, The Contraband |
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Date |
1866 |
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Genre |
Paintings |
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Material/Technique |
Oil on canvas; triptych composed of three same-sized panels |
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Dimensions |
28.25 x 20.25 in. |
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Description |
This is the left hand portion of a triptych showing an African American man in the same location at three stages of his military career. Here, he doffs his hat in greeting as he stands outside of the Provost Marshall's Office. In the background is a U.S. flag, drum, a new rifle with bayonette, and a newspaper lying on a chair. The man carries a knapsack on a stick and has dried tobacco leaves stuffed in his pocket. His clothes are rumpled. |
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Historical note |
This series of three paintings by Thomas Waterman Wood, created in 1866, depicts the progression of an ex-slave from his enlistment in the Union army to his return as a wounded veteran. Wood, who was living in Nashville in 1862, moved to Louisville in neutral Kentucky for the remainder of the war. His dignified and sympathetic portrayals of African Americans working in the fields or accepting new responsibilities prior to and immediately after the war are so unusual as to become political statements. |
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Subject |
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--African Americans |
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Theme |
Building a Future Through Opportunity
Walking a Fine Line |
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Story |
McKissacks
Thomas Waterman Wood |
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Geographic Location |
United States--Tennessee |
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Time period |
1860-1869 |
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Rights |
Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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Identifier |
ART321882 |
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Credit line |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., Gift of Charles Stewart Smith, 1884 |
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Type |
Still image |
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Contributing Institution |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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Digital Publisher |
Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University |
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Reference URL |
http://content.mtsu.edu/u?/shades,8 |
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Archival file |
shades3/ART321882.jpg |
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