The Amir Yakub Khan. The First Meeting with Major Cavagnari and Mr. Jenkins, 7 Miles from Safed Sang
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a group of men on horseback meeting in a rocky valley. British officers in red coats shake hands with an Afghan leader under a bright sky. This isn’t a painting—it’s one of the first photographs ever taken in Afghanistan. Burke lugged heavy glass plates across mountains to document the war, but cameras then were too slow for battle. So he staged moments like this, blending truth and theater. To see more of Burke’s war photos, look up John Burke (Irish, 1845–1915).
