James Bartlett Rich
In the Pumpkin Field at Lewes (The Photographer's Wife, his Daughter, and Friends)1898
silver print
4 3/4 x 6 1/2 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Like all amateur photographers, Rich took advantage of a family outing to sharpen his photographic skills. Here, his wife Hazel and daughter Sarah are selecting pumpkins from a patch near Lewes, Delaware. The random ovoid shapes of the pumpkins and the repeated pyramids of the gabled rooflines provide a stage-like setting. Mrs. Rich obliges by being “caught in the act” as the family participates in a Halloween ritual.
