Known for redefining the art of photography by adding collaged and hand-drawn elements, John Wood made Baltimore his home from 1993 until his death in summer 2012. Wood served in the Air Force as a bomber pilot during World War II, then studied with photographer Harry Callahan at Chicago’s Institute of Design, graduating in 1954. In the 1960s, Wood began making works that combined his altered photographs with political content. The artist continued this approach throughout his career, exploring issues such as the Vietnam War, gun violence, the vulnerability of the natural environment, and nuclear proliferation. Acquired by the BMA in spring 2012, Wood’s Eagle Postcard is representative of a body of work that reflects on American symbols, presenting them in subtly questioning ways. While the image portrays the majesty of the animal, the shimmering reversal of positive and negative tones as well as the intentional imperfections of the background may imply nostalgia for an ideal of America that, in the artist’s view, had vanished in the 1980s.