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What Do I Want, John Henry?

A work made of albumen print, pl. 27 from the album "gardner's photographic sketch book of the war, vol. 1" (1866).
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of albumen print, pl. 27 from the album "gardner's photographic sketch book of the war, vol. 1" (1866).

Date:

November 1862

Artist:

Alexander Gardner
American, born Scotland, 1821–1882

About this artwork

At the start of the Civil War, Alexander Gardner was granted unlimited access to photograph the Union troops. The images Gardner produced over the next four years—documenting the aftermath of battles and the life of soldiers in camp—were seen primarily in exhibitions and circulated in smaller form as cartes de visite. He published Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War in 1865, at the war’s end. With two volumes of 50 albumen prints each, the album retailed for $150—the equivalent of several months of an average worker’s wages—making it a luxury item. According to the photographer, “What do I want, John Henry?” was a question this Union captain frequently asked his servant (ex-slaves most often served the Northern army as cooks and laborers). On the page accompanying this photograph, Gardner patronizingly described John Henry as an “affectionate creature” of “untutored nature,” who was grateful for his newfound freedom at the war’s end.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Alexander Gardner

Title

What Do I Want, John Henry?

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1862

Medium

Albumen print, pl. 27 from the album "Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, vol. 1" (1866)

Dimensions

17.7 × 22.9 cm (7 × 9 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Everett Kovler

Reference Number

1967.330.27

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/196400/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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