A. Aubrey Bodine's Photographic Legacy Preserves Historical and Artistic Vision

The photographic work of A. Aubrey Bodine (1906-1970) represents a significant contribution to both documentary photography and artistic expression, with his collection including historically important images such as the 'Map of the Battle of the Antietam (1962)' photograph. This particular image documents a historical map from the Atlas to accompany the official records of the Union and Confederate armies from 1861-1865, specifically accompanying the report of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan U.S. Army from Series 1, Volume XIX, page 36.

Bodine was regarded in photographic circles worldwide as one of the finest pictorialists of the twentieth century, with his pictures exhibited in hundreds of prestigious shows and scores of museums while winning numerous awards against top competition. His photographic career began in 1923 when he started covering stories with his camera for the Baltimore Sunday Sun, traveling throughout Maryland to create remarkable documentary pictures of various occupations and activities that demonstrated exceptional quality and artistic design far beyond typical newspaper standards.

What distinguished Bodine's approach was his belief that photography could be a creative discipline, leading him to study art principles at the Maryland Institute College of Art. He viewed the camera and darkroom equipment as tools similar to a painter's brush or sculptor's chisel, emphasizing that he didn't take pictures but made pictures through careful composition and technical manipulation. His craftsmanship involved constant experimentation, with some images composed directly in the camera viewfinder while others underwent extensive darkroom work including dye application, intensifiers, pencil marking, scraping, and photographic cloud additions to achieve his desired artistic effects.

The preservation and accessibility of Bodine's work through the website https://www.aaubreybodine.com ensures that future generations can study both his artistic techniques and the historical documentation he captured. More than 6,000 photographs spanning Bodine's 47-year career are available for viewing on the website, with images available for order as reprints and note cards. For those interested in learning more about Bodine's life and work, the full text of his biography 'A Legend In His Time,' written shortly after his death by Harold A. Williams, his editor and closest friend, can be found on the website at https://www.aaubreybodine.com.

The continued availability of Bodine's photographic collection, including historically significant works like the Antietam battle map photograph, provides valuable resources for historians, photography enthusiasts, and art scholars studying twentieth century pictorialism and documentary photography techniques. His approach to photography as a creative medium rather than mere documentation continues to influence contemporary photographic practices and demonstrates the artistic potential inherent in photographic technology when combined with traditional artistic principles and innovative technical manipulation.