Story of John Murphy

John Murphy (1862-1925) was born in London and grew, his passion for adventure led him to the formerly Austro-Hungarian Empire where he would cement his place in world history. His legacy and life's work is his personal documentary of the cataclysmic events of 1881, service in the Seventy Weeks War, birth of the rise of the Millenary Republic and the new world we now live in. He later emigrated to the United States, documenting life in New York City for several years until his passing away in Lincoln, Connecticut. Fifty years onward, this retrospective are a serves as both a narrative of his life and also the rebirth of the Diluvian people.

Note: quoted text were notes written by the artist, brackets indicate notes from the gallery.

Created using Midjourney and Photoshop.

John Murphy
c. 1877-1878
Photograph, recolorized

Lake Landscape #17
c. 1881
Photograph
'Mount Chivot outside of Cer Mare, Austria-Hungary'
[Remote farming village north-western region of modern day Wallachia, Romania]

Untitled
c. 1881
Charcoal on paper
'What once was lost will soon be found'

Forest Landscape #12
c. 1881
Photograph
'The road to Cer Mare'

Andrei & Ana-Maria Botezatu
c. 1881
Charcoal on paper

The Coming Storm
c. 1881
Charcoal on paper

The Elders of Cer Mare
c. 1881
Charcoal on paper

Congregation
c. 1881
Photograph
'Church of the Black Sun'

The Star of Truth
c. 1881
Photograph

Razvan
c. 1881
Photograph

The Goat King
c. 1881
Photograph
'Sacrificial votive figurine'

Meeting of the Order of the Star
c. 1881
Photograph
'Cristian Baciu (far left)'

Many Faced One
c. 1881
Photograph
'The flock will soon be led home.'

Untitled
c. 1881
Photograph

The Horror at Cer Mare
c. 1881
Charcoal on paper
'The sky was tore asunder and from it poured revelation.'

Papa and the fishermen
c. 1881
Charcoal on paper
[It is suspected that this image was likely drawn by an unnamed child in Cer Mare that had fled post-event.]

Ripe Lime Dragon
c. 1881
Photograph
'This was originally a bell pepper plant'

Diluvian Rose Plant
c. 1881
Photograph
'This was the other bell pepper plant'

Untitled
c. 1881
Photograph
'3 days post-catastrophe, is still alive.'

[Illegible Text]
c. 1881
Photograph

Abominations
c. 1881
Photograph
'God has abandoned us.'

Andrei & Ana-Maria Botezatu
c. 1881
Photograph

Untitled
c. 1881
Photograph
'Ioana's shepherd dog and both of her cats'

Daniel Pescaru
c. 1881
Photograph
'Post-event'

Portrait of Cristian Baciu
c. 1881
Photograph
'12 cubits and growing'

Azra Özdemir
c. 1881
Photograph
'One of the elders post-event'

Communion with the Wild
c. 1881
Photograph
'Calls himself Elder Agrios'

Michael Căpreanu
c. 1881
Photograph

Tree Talker
c. 1882
Photograph

Untitled
c. 1883
Photograph

The Coming Storm
c.1884
Photograph
'I can always feel her warmth when I close my eyes'

Burning of Crinii
c. 1885
Photograph

Collective Punishment
c. 1885
Photograph
[Illegible text]

The Pact of the Many
c. 1885
Photograph

The Truthkeeper Militia
c.1886
Photograph

Battle of the Meadows
c. 1886
Photograph

Establishment of the Revolutionary Government of Diluvia
c.1887
Photograph

The March on Vienna
c. 1887
Photograph

Routing the enemy
c. 1887
Photograph

Cristian Baciu leading the march on Budapest
c.1887
Photograph

Order of the Black Sun
c.1887
Photograph

Unidentified Soldier
c. 1888
Photograph

Cpl. Olga Țăranu
c. 1888
Photograph
'Trencher Platoon Leader'

Trench Beast
c. 1888
Photograph

Self-Portrait
c.1888
Charcoal drawing on paper
'Bunker under

Cristian Baciu
c. 1888
Photograph

Conscripts
c.1888
Photograph

Loss of the 32nd battalion
c. 1888
Photograph, ambrotype
'Florence'

A Stubborn Jedec
c. 1888
Photograph

Challenging the beast
c. 1888
Photograph
'The great prophet was victorious.'

Gen. Marko 'Netopirja' Kovač
c. 1888
Photograph

Self Portrait
c. 1888
Photograph

Devastation
c. 1888
Photograph

Sgt. Ivan Babić
c. 1889
Photograph
'Trencher Platoon Leader'

The Twin Envoys
c. 1889
Photograph
'The beginning of the armistice'

Establishment of the Millenary Republic of Diluvia
c. 1889
Photograph
[Cristian Baciu (center right)]

The Ritual
c. 1889
Photograph

One door closes, another has opened
c. 1900
Photograph, ambrotype

Self-Portrait
c. 1908
Photograph, ambrotype
'New York awaits'

Vagrant
c. 1909
Photograph

Mugshots of the Baxter Street Bulls
c. 1909
Photograph, ambrotype
[Images confirmed to be taken by John while working as a contract criminal photographer. Courtesy of the New York Police Department.]

Megashrimp trapper
c. 1909
Photograph, ambrotype

Homeless man
c. 1910
Photograph, ambrotype

Cristian's copy of Genesis
c. 1910
Photograph, ambrotype
[The next 6 photos were taken by John are from the August-December display of the 70 Weeks War that was destroyed in an arson several months later.]