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Formal portrait of an African-American man in an ornate daguerreotype case.

A Black man is nicely dressed in a suit, vest, high collar shirt and tie. He faces front, his left arm leans on a table covered with a decorative cloth, both hands are closed. He fills about three-quarters of the frame from the waist up, slightly off center. His pensive face looks at the viewer, he’s clean-shaven, no smile. Light illuminates half of his face from the upper left. The background is dark and undescribed. The daguerreotype sits inside a metal frame nestled inside a classic velvet daguerreotype hinged case.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2008.304
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Untitled (half length portrait of African-American man, seated and leaning against tapestry-covered table)
Classification
Photographs
Work Type
photograph
Date
1840s-1850s
Places
Creation Place: North America, United States
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/330136

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Sixth-plate daguerreotype
Technique
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.3 x 7 cm (3 1/4 x 2 3/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Richard and Ronay Menschel Fund for the Acquisition of Photographs
Accession Year
2008
Object Number
2008.304
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Colleen Walsh, "Defining themselves; Two 19th century daguerreotypes allowed African Americans to show their lives as they were", Harvard Gazette (Cambridge, MA, 2010)

Exhibition History

  • GenEd US12 American Encounters: Art, Contact, and Conflict, 1560-1860 (S427) Spring 2012, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2012 - 05/12/2012
  • 32Q: 2100 19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/17/2016 - 11/01/2017

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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