What Do I Want, John Henry?, Alexander Gardner, November 1862
Alexander Gardner, retratoAlexander GardnerEstados Unidos, 1821–1882

What Do I Want, John Henry?

1862 · Photograph

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Onde está «What Do I Want, John Henry?» hoje? Coleção: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Não exposta de momento. Verificado 29 de setembro de 2026.

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Estados Unidos

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At the start of the Civil War, Alexander Gardner was granted unlimited access to photograph the Union troops. The images Gardner produced over the next four years—documenting the aftermath of battles and the life of soldiers in camp—were seen primarily in exhibitions and circulated in smaller form as cartes de visite. He published Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War in 1865, at the war’s end. With two volumes of 50 albumen prints each, the album retailed for $150—the equivalent of several months of an average worker’s wages—making it a luxury item. According to the photographer, “What do I want, John Henry?” was a question this Union captain frequently asked his servant (ex-slaves most often served the Northern army as cooks and laborers). On the page accompanying this photograph, Gardner patronizingly described John Henry as an “affectionate creature” of “untutored nature,” who was grateful for his newfound freedom at the war’s end.

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1967.330.27

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