ORThe Open Room
Digital gallery
Back to the NGA collection
The image is a sepia-toned stereoscopic photograph showing a group of seven individuals working in a field with their tools. The soil is turned where they are working, suggesting cultivation. The people are spread across the image, forming a staggered line. In the background, there is a line of trees separating the field from the sky. The color palette is dominated by soft browns and muted tones, enhancing the historical, rustic quality of the scene.
Read the visual description

The image is a sepia-toned stereoscopic photograph showing a group of seven individuals working in a field with their tools. The soil is turned where they are working, suggesting cultivation. The people are spread across the image, forming a staggered line. In the background, there is a line of trees separating the field from the sky. The color palette is dominated by soft browns and muted tones, enhancing the historical, rustic quality of the scene.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

"Digging Sweet Potatoes in South Carolina"

George N. Barnard

Date
c. 1869
Medium
stereoscopic albumen silver print
Dimensions
image (each): 8 × 7.7 cm (3 1/8 × 3 1/16 in.) sheet: 8 × 15.6 cm (3 1/8 × 6 1/8 in.) mount: 8.7 × 17.6 cm (3 7/16 × 6 15/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
2023.39.198
Credit line
Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection, Purchased with support from the Ford Foundation
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CPH
Original NGA record

Subjects and terms

  • portrait
  • American
  • Labor
  • Farming
  • African American
  • Women
  • Men
  • South Carolina
  • Stereograph
Provenance

Ross Kelbaugh, Marriottsville, MD; NGA purchase, 2023.

Inscription

along left edge of mount printed in black ink: G. N. BARNARD, / No. 263 King Street, Charleston, S. C.; along right edge: SOUTH CAROLINA VIEWS.; on verso, by Ross Kelbaugh, top right in graphite: 24.0AL / AF241; center printed in black ink on applied paper: No. 77. / Digging Sweet Potatoes in South Carolina.

NGA object ID 227218. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.