Formal portrait in sharp detail of two women sitting together side by side facing forward in patterned dresses, holding hands.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Both the women look at the us with plain expressions, no smiles. They have straight dark hair, parted in the middle and gathered up behind their heads. They’re wearing patterned long sleeve dresses with lace collars, a brooch in the center of the collars, and black lace gloves. The younger woman on the right wears a black ribbon over her lace collar, she extends her right arm to hold hands with the other lady. The woman on the left has placed her left hand on the other’s shoulder. The daguerreotype sits in a scalloped frame, the background is undefined.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2018.86
People
Augustus Washington, American (1820/1821 - 1875)
Title
Untitled (two women in bright floral dresses, holding hands)
Classification
Photographs
Work Type
photograph
Date
c. 1844-1853
Places
Creation Place: North America, United States, Connecticut
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/361683

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Quarter plate daguerreotype
Technique
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
11.7 × 9.2 cm (4 5/8 × 3 5/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: verso of case, embossed: WASHINGTON / 136. / GALLERY / MAIN ST. / HARTFORD

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Greg French Early Photography, Jamaica Plain, MA], sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2018

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Kenyon C. Bolton III Fund
Accession Year
2018
Object Number
2018.86
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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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