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Portrait of a seated woman holding a postmortem baby in a sleeping pose across her lap.

The mother sits forward as her head is turned toward the baby and her eyes look to the viewer. She’s wearing a dark stripped dress with black lace collar; her straight black hair is pulled behind her neck. The baby’s face is pale, and the eyes and mouth are closed; its arm lies gently across the chest over a dark garment. The background is dark, and it’s framed in ornately stamped metal frame inside a daguerreotype case. Overall the picture is faded, and dust is evident throughout the image.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2.2002.12
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Untitled (postmortem infant portrait with mother)
Classification
Photographs
Work Type
photograph
Date
1850s
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/160321

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Sixth plate daguerreotype
Technique
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.26 x 6.99 cm (3 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Transfer from the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
Accession Year
2011
Object Number
2.2002.12
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Melissa Banta, A Curious and Ingenious Art: Reflections on Daguerreotypes at Harvard (Iowa City, 2000), p. 4, fig. 6

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2100 19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/08/2021 - 02/28/2022

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu