By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and David Perlmutt

A historian and a collector are defending the authenticity of a photo found in Charlotte that appears to depict slave children, even as critics say copies of the image exist at the New York Public Library and have been sold on eBay.

A story about the photo was written by The Associated Press and ran in the Observer on Friday. The image in question shows two African-American children, barefoot and wearing ragged clothes.

New York collector Keya Morgan paid $30,000 for the photo and an additional $20,000 for documents about the sale of one of the children, identified as John.

The Associated Press story cited art experts who said it was created by the photography studio of Mathew Brady, the 19th-century photographer known for his portraits of historical figures such as President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

But critics quoted Tuesday on a USA Today blog say the photo is not rare and can be found on the New York Public Library's website. The caption on that version of the picture, part of a "stereoscopic" image meant to create the illusion of 3-D, says it was taken in 1870, casting doubt on whether the children were slaves.

Another critic said she was able to find a copy of the stereoscopic photograph on the online auction site eBay with a few keystrokes. It was sold with other pictures for $163.

An Associated Press editor declined comment, saying the news organization typically does not comment on published stories.

In an interview with the Observer on Tuesday, Morgan, the collector, adamantly stood by the photo's authenticity.

He called the USA Today blog "moronic."

"(The blogger) quotes an anonymous lady off eBay who's never studied these photographs, who's never even heard of the terminology, or knows anything about authenticity," said Morgan, who said he has collected or handled thousands of Brady photos.

His photo, he said, was taken around 1862 or 1863. Its mount and albumen paper were typical of the materials Brady used in that period.

Brady changed to a different mounting material in 1864, he said.

Morgan said he bought the photograph from a "picker" in Charlotte, someone who goes to estate sales looking for valuable objects. The picker called him in April about a photo album and documents he bought in Charlotte.

The photo, Morgan said, came from the estate of an African-American woman who had died in her 90s. He said she had no children. Morgan wouldn't identify the picker.

Last week, Will Sapp, a photographic historian and independent curator who helped start the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, called the photo "a very difficult and poignant piece of American history."

On Tuesday, he also disputed claims that the photo is false.

"The photograph is real. And the photograph is authentic," Sapp told the Observer. "Who took it, that's another issue altogether."

Sapp said the photograph could have been taken by any one of four or five Civil War-era photographers Brady hired who embedded themselves with Union troops. He said he's confident that at some point Brady's studio handled the photo.

Swapping and selling negatives was common, Sapp said, and without more information, the person who took the photo remains a mystery.
 

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