Savannah, Georgia, No. 2

George N. Barnard

1866 · Albumen silver print from glass negative · Photographs

In the last quarter of Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign, Barnard presents ten views of South Carolina and five of Savannah, Georgia, focusing on sections of the city that had been spared destruction. From an aerie in the cupola of the customhouse, he made two photographs—not a panorama but a pair of images to which he added cloud-filled skies. Savannah, Georgia, No. 2 is a magnificent diagonal composition that features the wide Savannah River and the meandering line of marshlands that meets the sea at the horizon. The photograph balances the commerce of ships on the far bank of the river with the awnings shading the entrances to marine shops that had reopened for business after the war. This photograph is a clear depiction of Southern commerce at the beginning of Reconstruction.

Artist

George N. Barnard

Date

1866

Medium

Albumen silver print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2012