“Framing Identity” exhibition examines Black empowerment, resilience through 19th century photography
Frederick Douglass once said: “Poets, prophets, and reformers are all picture-makers—and this ability is the secret of their power and of their achievements. They see what ought to be by the reflection of what is, and endeavor to remove the...
Student Curators discuss collaborative process developing ‘No, not even for a picture’ online exhibit
In 2020, University of Michigan students Veronica Cook Williamson and Lindsey Willow Smith worked with Clements Library staff and others—through a pandemic—to produce a new online exhibition examining early photography of Native Americans. In this guest post,...
New Virtual Exhibition Reexamines Photography of Midwest Native People, Tribes
Group portrait of five unidentified Ojibwa Indian men wearing mixtures of western and traditional clothing posing outside tree bark wigwam at White Earth Indian Reservation, Minnesota. Photography can be a tool of colonialism, as well as a tool of sovereignty and...
Writing the Injured Body
Guest post by Jean Franzino, Clements Library 2019 Norton Strange Townshend Fellow * * * In 1904, New Jersey Civil War veteran George R. Shebbeard published his life narrative, a 32-page booklet of the sort sold by disabled veterans for their economic support. The...
Looks Can Be Deceiving: Issues Regarding 19th-Century Native American Photographs
Graphics Cataloger Jakob Dopp outlines his observations from researching and cataloging hundreds of photos from a collection recently acquired by the Clements Library. Learn more about this collection from the University of Michigan’s Press Release and Video. Some...
William L. Clements and “The Death of General Wolfe”
The Death of General Wolfe was reinstalled for permanent public display at the William L. Clements Library last month. Over 240 years old and 8 1/2 feet in width, the epic Benjamin West painting once again graces its longtime home after nearly seven years offsite. In...
New Graphics Finding Aids: March – June 2019
The Clements Library is pleased to announce that the following graphics collections are now described online and may be requested for use in the reading room. Andrews’ Raid scrapbook and telegraph ledger, 1885-1888 – Processed by Louiegrf Miller The...