The Civil War Sketches of Adolph Metzner (1861–64)

From gilt-framed ambrotypes of glassy-eyed new recruits to grim and grainy shots of the muddy dead, the American Civil War was the first major conflict to leave behind an extensive photographic record. Apart from the stylised scenes of battle that found their way on to painted canvas, it is perhaps to these photographs that one might automatically tend if asked to think of the visual record of the war. However, in both the photographic record and the more official war art, as engaging as they can be, there does seem to be something important missing: the immediacy and intimacy of everyday life as a soldier. This is why the collection of sketches, drawings, and watercolours left to us by Adolph G. Metzner — during his three years of service with the 1st German, 32nd Regiment Indiana Infantry — are of such special value. We see the camps not through a haze of indistinct monotone, but instead enlivened with human colour. Battlefields are not softened by the many careful hours in the painter’s studio, with their choreography and crafted composition, but instead carry a certain rawness of proximity. The gift of Metzner’s collection can be seen most starkly in his portraits of people, especially when compared to their photographic counterparts.