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(c) 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
General Nelson A. Miles
(c) 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
(c) 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

General Nelson A. Miles

primary (Boston, 1843 - 1885, Washington DC)
subject (Westminster, Massachusetts, 1839 - 1925, Washington, D.C.)
Date1885
Place MadeWashington, District of Columbia, United States, North America
MediumPlatinum print
Dimensions21.3 x 13.1 cm (8 3/8 x 5 3/16 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberARC.008126
eMuseum ID717385
Other NumberP27e53
EmbARK ObjectID23234
TMS Source ID8366
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on view
Web Commentary
Marian “Clover” Adams photographed her friend and former Civil War general for the Union Army Nelson A. Miles in 1885. Posed in profile with a star-studded flag artfully draped behind him, Clover’s dexterity with the gradation of light to dark is evident.

Miles was also an acquaintance of Isabella’s, and she kept this photograph in the Presidents and Statesmen Case in the Long Gallery. Alongside it are memorabilia related to other American dignitaries and politicians. 

BibliographyNotesElizabeth Reluga, "The Overlooked Female Photographer, Clover Adams," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 17 May 2022, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/overlooked-female-photographer-clover-adams
MarksNotesSigned in pen (lower center): Nelson A. Miles
Inscribed in pen in Marian Adams's hand (lower right): Gen Miles / March 3, 1885
ProvenanceNotesPossibly acquired through the historian, novelist and critic Henry Adams (1838-1918) who was the husband of photographer Marian "Clover" Adams.
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Marian Adams
1883
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Marian Adams
1883
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Laura Adams Armer
1900
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
1864
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
about 1865
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
about 1865
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
1864
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
1864-1865
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
about 1865
(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
John Adams Whipple
about 1850