WASHINGTON, D.C.
BEFORE THE LENS
Over 25,000 glass negatives.
Thousands of lives.
One extraordinary photography studio.
C. M. Bell Studio
Rediscovering the people, families, politics, and culture
captured by one of Washington’s leading portrait studios.
Miss Jackson
C.M. Bell Studio. c.. 1890s.
EXPLORE THE COLLECTION
Notables
The Stages
Native
Delegations
African American
Washington
Families
Sisters
Soldiers
Children
RECENT DISCOVERIES
FACE FROM THE ARCHIVE
Frederick Douglass
Discover Frederick Douglass through a remarkable collection of documents that trace his life, convictions, relationships, and enduring place in the American story.
THE STORY OF C.M. BELL
Fredericksburg to Washington, D.C.
A family of locksmiths turned photographers, Charles Milton Bell’s lens captures a generation of Americans.
WATCH
Joe Cannon endured because he understood how Congress actually worked.