[Henry Hamilton Bennett with his Family: Ashley, Harriet and Nellie]

about 1888

Medium

Albumen silver print

Dimensions

43.8 × 54 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-821187

Henry Hamilton Bennett ran his photography studio with the assistance of his family. He photographed himself with three of his children in the drawing room, which conspicuously displays two paintings and a sculpture of what appears to be a Civil War subject. The inclusion of the fine arts in an otherwise sparsely furnished room with worn floors and plain walls shows the importance of art to Bennett and this photographer's desire to align himself with the traditional arts. A painted landscape hangs on the wall directly above Bennett's head. He was a committed landscape photographer and land conservationist, so his symbolic placement under this image hints at his ambitions and interests. Furthering the connection between aesthetic contemplation and Bennett's profession, the daughter seated next to him seems to be perusing a photograph album, emphasizing both family unity and professional affirmation.