Levi Coffin House, Upstairs Hallway, Fountain City, Indiana
Artist
William Earle Williams
(American, born 1950)
Date2001, printed 2003
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 7 1/2 × 7 1/2 inches (19.05 × 19.05 cm)
Sheet: 9 15/16 × 8 inches (25.24 × 20.32 cm)
Sheet: 9 15/16 × 8 inches (25.24 × 20.32 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2008.67.8
SignedOn sheet recto, bottom center, blindstamped: "PHOTOGRAPH / BY / WILLIAM EARLE WILLIAMS / COPYRIGHT ©";
Signed on sheet verso, bottom, in pencil.
InscribedOn sheet verso, bottom, in pencil: "Levi Coffin House, Upstairs Hallway / Fountain City Ind., 2001.", "Coffin Hse nd 2001 / 3.2 f16 15-c PR+Od+125", "8 +7 03".
MarkingsImpressed on bottom of print: "Photograph / by / William Earle Williams / copyright ©."
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a doorway through which a staircase landing and a wood floor is seen. A wooden chair sits beside an open door in the background.Gallery LabelThis spare, elegant composition depicts the interior of the former home of Quakers Levi and Catherine Coffin. The Coffin house served an important stop on the Underground Railroad, providing a safe haven for more than 1,000 freedom seekers as they made their way to Canada.
The photograph is included in a body of work by William Earle Williams that focuses on the Underground Railroad. Williams consciously pictures his subjects with sharp focus and without the distraction of people, encouraging viewers to contemplate the stillness of the images and, according to him, “make psychological connection to these highly charged and storied places.”
Copyright© William Earle Williams
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