The National Gallery of Art has “acquired a rare copy of Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War (1866) through the Patrons’ Permanent Fund. “Among the most important photographic works of the Civil War and the 19th century, the landmark volume by Alexander Gardner (1821–1882) significantly expands the Gallery’s existing collection of American Civil War photography.” The sketch book will be on display in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art from September 8 through December 1, 2019. The exhibition, The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art, presents more than 80 recent acquisitions.

Gardner is said to have captured President Abraham Lincoln’s likeness more than any other photographer.

“The exhibition is organized chronologically” and begins with one of “photography’s inventors”, William Henry Fox Talbot.