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Credit
Line:
Collection
of the
National
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
shared
with the
Library
of
Congress
("Emily
Howland
Photograph
Album") |
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Previously
unknown
photos
of young
Harriet
Tubman
to go on
public
view for
the
first
time
To View
the
Photograph
and
Visit
Museum,
Visitors
May Walk
Up for
Entry
Without
a Pass
Monday
Through
Friday
Beginning
at 1
p.m.
WASHINGTON
(Tell Us
DC) -
The
Smithsonian’s
National
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
will
display—for
the
first
time—the
Emily
Howland
photography
album
containing
a
previously
unknown
portrait
of
abolitionist
and
Underground
Railroad-conductor
Harriet
Tubman.
The
Howland
album
will be
the
museum’s
first
acquisition
to be
displayed
in
Heritage
Hall,
the
museum’s
main
entry
hall. It
will be
on
exhibit
Monday,
March
25,
through
Sunday,
March
31, and
then
relocated
to the
“Slavery
and
Freedom”
exhibition
on the
C3 Level
in the
museum’s
History
Gallery.
A
recently
announced
visitation
policy
allowing
for
walk-up
entry
without
passes
Monday
through
Friday
starting
at 1
p.m.
will
provide
visitors
access
to
viewing
the
Tubman
photograph.
Two
years
ago, the
National
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
and the
Library
of
Congress
jointly
acquired
the
photograph
as part
Howland’s
photo
album.
Howland
(1827–1929),
a Quaker
school
teacher,
taught
at Camp
Todd,
the
Freedman’s
School
in
Arlington,
Virginia.
The
album
was
originally
compiled
as a
gift for
her.
Containing
49
images
taken
circa
1860s,
it
includes
a more
commonly
known
Tubman
portrait
taken
later in
life and
images
of Sen.
Charles
Sumner,
woman’s
activist
and
abolitionist
Lydia
Maria
Child,
organizer
Samuel
Ely,
William
Henry
Channing,
Col.
C.W.
Folsom,
Charles
Dickens
and the
only
known
photograph
of John
Willis
Menard,
the
first
African
American
man
elected
to the
U.S.
Congress.
“This
photo
album
allows
us to
see
Harriet
Tubman
in a
riveting,
new way;
other
iconic
portraits
present
her as
either
stern or
frail,”
said
Lonnie
G. Bunch
III, the
founding
director
of the
museum.
“This
new
photograph
shows
her
relaxed
and very
stylish.
Sitting
with her
arm
casually
draped
across
the back
of a
parlor
chair,
she’s
wearing
an
elegant
bodice
and a
full
skirt
with a
fitted
waist.
Her
posture
and
facial
expression
remind
us that
historical
figures
are far
more
complex
than we
realize.
This
adds
significantly
to what
we know
about
this
fierce
abolitionist—it
helps to
humanize
such an
iconic
figure.”
Since
the
acquisition,
Library
of
Congress
conservators
have
carefully
reattached
the
cover,
treated
the
leather
album
and
cleaned
the
photographs
to
ensure
long-term
preservation.
Digitization
experts
from
both
institutions
consulted
on the
best
scanning
specifications
to use.
Two
catalogers
have
studied
the
individuals
portrayed
and
found
full
names
for all
but
three of
the
people.
They
invite
the
public
to help
identify
the
remaining
individuals.
The
portraits
displayed
together
in the
album
can tell
many
stories.
Education
is a
strong
theme as
well as
abolition.
At least
10
individuals
portrayed
were
teachers,
including
African
American
women.
They
were
identified
through
genealogy
records
and
Freedmen’s
School
reports
published
in
Quaker
journals.
Two of
the
teachers,
Nancy
Johnson
and her
sister,
Mary Ann
Donaldson,
were
part of
the
American
Missionary
Association’s
effort
to
educate
African
Americans
at Port
Royal,
South
Carolina,
during
the
early
1860s.
Pictures
with
Purpose:
A
Symposium
on Early
African
American
Photography
Display
of the
Howland
photograph
album
coincides
with
museum’s
first
photography
symposium,
“Pictures
with
Purpose:
A
Symposium
on Early
African
American
Photography,”
Friday,
March
29, from
10 a.m.
to 5
p.m. The
daylong
symposium
examines
ideas
about
the
meaning
and
significance
of early
images
of
African
Americans
and will
include
scholars,
artists
and
historians
from
across
the
country,
such as
photography
historian
Deborah
Willis,
curator
and
writer
Brian
Wallis
and
more.
The
program
is
supported
by the
Phillip
and
Edith
Leonian
Foundation
and
hosted
by the
museum’s
Earl and
Amanda
Stafford
Center
of
African
American
Media
Arts
(CAAMA).
Though
the
event is
free and
open to
the
public,
registration
is
required.
Tickets
are
available
at
www.etix.com.
Because
of Her
Story
Display
of
Howland’s
album is
part of
the
Smithsonian
American
Women’s
History
Initiative,
“Because
of Her
Story.”
The
initiative
is one
of the
country’s
most
ambitious
undertakings
to
research,
collect,
document
display
and
share
the
compelling
story of
women.
It will
deepen
our
understanding
of
women’s
contributions
to the
nation
and the
world.
More
information
about
the
initiative
is
available
at
www.womenshistory.si.edu.
About
the
National
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
The
National
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
opened
Sept. 24
on the
National
Mall in
Washington,
D.C.
Occupying
a
prominent
location
next to
the
Washington
Monument,
the
nearly
400,000-square-foot
museum
is the
nation’s
largest
and most
comprehensive
cultural
destination
devoted
exclusively
to
exploring,
documenting
and
showcasing
the
African
American
story
and its
impact
on
American
and
world
history.
For more
information
about
the
museum,
visit
www.nmaahc.si.edu
or call
Smithsonian
information
at (202)
633-1000.
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