Empire
Photographs by John Gossage
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (jet aircraft in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0124
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (Lockheed F-117 stealth fighter in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0129
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (Boeing B52 strategic bomber in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0128
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (jet fighter in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0127
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (jet fighters in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0130
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (helicopter in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0123
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (helicopters in flight), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0125
“Desert Storm/Victory Day” (Boeing B52 strategic bomber passing overhead), Washington, DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0120
“Washington” (Washington Monument), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0139
“Pentagon” (Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter in flight), Arlington, Virginia, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0122
“Mall” (partial view of a man walking on the Mall), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0138
“Lincoln” (passing automobile, probably near the Lincoln Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0156
“Mall,” Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0153
“Grassy Knoll” (view of a tree showing the edge of a stone [?] structure), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0184
“Lincoln” (Arlington Memorial Bridge with the Lincoln Memorial in the background), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0140
“Capitol” (dome of the Capitol), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0186
“Memorial Bridge” (partial view of the Arlington Memorial Bridge showing stonework with a man in the background), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0154
“Lincoln” (Lincoln Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0134
“Lincoln” (Lincoln Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0135
“Lincoln” (Lincoln Memorial), Washington, DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0133
“Lincoln” (Lincoln Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0132
“Treasury” (Treasury Building), Washington, DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0121
“Washington” (men near the Washington Monument), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0141
“Reflecting Pool” (near the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0152
“Jefferson” (view of a low stone wall and part of a terrace, Jefferson Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0181
“Jefferson” (Jefferson Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0182
“White House Lawn,” Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0131
“Lawn of the Capitol,” Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0190
“Grassy Knoll” (view of a tree showing the edge of a stone [?] structure), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0185
“Folks,” Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0155
“Lincoln” (Lincoln Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0188
“Consultants” (view of a building in shadow), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0136
“The Fed” (doorway, Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0189
“Reflecting Pool” (near the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0187
“Jefferson” (dome of the Jefferson Memorial), Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH1999:0183
“Senate Side of the Capitol,” Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0137
“Rayburn Building,” Washington DC, between 1987 and 1993. PH2000:0142
They say that Gary, Indiana, is the most dangerous city in America. That doesn’t stop Washington…from being by far the most unpopular. You can stay out of Gary or not according to your preference, but Washington and the idea of Washington gets to you wherever you are. To be truthful, if I remember correctly, when my pictures were taken Washington, DC, was actually the murder capital as well, but the city seems to have lost its taste for killing in recent years and let Gary slip by it. Leaving us once again to be just the city of taxes, impeachment, and the disingenuous smile. What seemed to be my access to the city was the “good press for the dead” part of the city. The places that the government uses to preserve its past and, by implication lay claim to its current power.
— John Gossage, 1999
We partially acquired John Gossage’s Empire series in 1999. The following year, Gossage donated another twenty-three photographs to the set. The series was completed by a donation by Lewis Baltz of five additional photographs. Empire appears in full above. The series was also displayed in our 2005 exhibition of the same name, juxtaposed with a set of prints taken in 1868 by Hermann Vogel. Loaned by Gossage, the Vogel photographs were a commission by the Prussian government to record the sites of ancient Egypt.
