Portraits in Gray: A Civil War Photography Exhibition featuring the collection of David Wynn Vaughan will be on display at The William F. Laman Public Library from March 29 through June 15.

    Private collector from Atlanta, Georgia, David Wynn Vaughan has arguably the largest collection of Civil War Confederate images in the nation, many of them identified. The exhibition will feature 70 of his images in 9 thematic sections. One section highlights his rare collection includes eight of the known 12 portraits of cadets at the Georgia Military Institute.

     “Portraits in Gray” is a unique multi-themed gallery which provides the viewer with an in depth emotional experience and knowledge of photographic subjects from the time of the Civil War. The portraits themselves are high quality large size reproductions of originals from David Wynn Vaughan’s nationally acclaimed collection of Southern soldiers, which draw the viewer into the eyes of each subject. Each image holds an expression frozen in time.

     The exhibition seeks to educate the viewer about the how photography of the period has become so important to the modern historian. The viewer learns about the photographers of the time and the many processes they used.  The viewer will also learn the intimate details of a soldier’s visit to have his “likeness” made. Finally, the gallery through the collected wisdom of David Vaughn will assist the novice collector in the dos and don’ts of collecting period images. All of the images (are only a fraction of David’s collection) were selected by David and museum curatorial staff based upon their aesthetic appeal and best representation of each gallery section theme.  This exhibit is presented by the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, Kennesaw, Georgia

UPCOMING GALLERY EXHIBITS