The Harp Backdrop of Camp Graham
By Adam Ochs Fleischer The backdrop highlighted in this installment is the only example I have cataloged thus far featuring subjects from a single regiment: the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry, also
Category: Behind the Backdrop
U.S. Capitol Building and Dome Backdrops
By Adam Ochs Fleischer A central theme of this column since its inception is that backdrops used in Civil War images generally suggest the photographer’s location. It can be fairly
The Cavalry and Cannon Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In this installment, we move to the Western Theater of the war to examine a backdrop used at Camp Hendershott in Davenport, Iowa, and likely in
House Near the Susquehanna Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In this installment, we examine a painted backdrop that does not have a military theme. Before the Civil War, landscape painting as a genre dominated American
Reflections on Two Years
By Adam Ochs Fleischer With this issue marking the second anniversary of this column, it seems fitting to stop and assess what’s been accomplished so far, as well as to
The Palm Tree Backdrop of Jackson, Michigan
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In this installment, we stay in the Wolverine state to study an example used in Jackson by photographer Norman Erastus Allen. Like Kalamazoo, the city of
The Tiger Tree Backdrop of Kalamazoo, Michigan
By Adam Ochs Fleischer In the previous installment, I focused on a backdrop used in Lexington, Mo., during a storm of sectarian conflict. Identifying the backdrop to photographer Thomas D.
A Backdrop Connected to Portraits of Quantrill’s Men
By Adam Ochs Fletcher I have sometimes found that knowing quite a lot about a backdrop is not all that helpful in better acquainting me with the subjects who stood
Lytle’s Baton Rouge Backdrop
By Adam Ochs Fleischer White neoclassical buildings boasting large columns at their entrance typify antebellum architecture, from government buildings to plantation homes. As such, it is unsurprising that this imagery
The Augusta or Portland, Maine, Backdrops
By Adam Ochs Fleischer Two backdrops unique to Maine portraits have always been of particular interest to me because of their distinctive appearance. While generally well known in the collecting