Hunt, Leavitt
American (1831-1907)

TITLE ON OBJECT: Convent of Mt. Sinai
PUBLISHED TITLE: Covent of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai

1852
salted paper print
18.6 x 32.2 cm.
Museum Purchase
GEH NEG: 32250
76:0020:0064

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:
Perez, Nissan N. --Focus East: Early Photography in the Near East (1839-1885).-- New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988. p. 178.//
Mulligan, Therese & Wooters, David. --Photography from 1839 to today: George Eastman House, Rochester, NY.-- Cologne: Taschen, 1999. p. 161.//

INSCRIPTION: on mat: identification, in pencil, in English

NOTES: Cataloged by J. Buerger, updated 4/98, DZ. "Brother of the painter Richard Morris Hunt, himself an archaeologist of independent means, Leawitt Hunt was the first American photographer to visit the Near East. In the winter of 1851-52, after a stay in Heidelberg, Hunt traveled to Egypt with a sculptor friend from Cincinnati named Baker. The trip began in Alexandria. After sailing up the Nile, Huint and Baker crossed the peninsula of Sinai, where they visited the convent of St. Catherine, and continued to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and Petra. They went as far north as Lebanon, Baalbek, and Damascus and stopped in Athens on their way to Rome, where the trip ended. About fifty photographs from the journey have survived, but there is no doubt that a much greater number of negatives were exposed, as Leawitt Hunt is reported to have been a passionate photographer. His plates were approximately 8x10", and the final prints are usually slightly smaller. Some of them bear the initials LH in the negative...." [Nissan N. Perez, --Focus East--] Published title from --Focus East--. Date provided by Will Stapp, based upon information from Nathan Flint Baker's journal from the trip. [5/99]

SUBJECT: architecture, convent / Convent of St. Catherine