By this point in his life, the great American poet had nothing to gain by a formal portrait. The result is a friendly, informal image as though the viewer has been summoned for a chat on a sunny afternoon. The warmth of feeling may come from the fact that the photographer knew Whitman; his brother Thomas Harned was a close friend and literary executor of the poet.
Albumen print
6 1/2 x 4 in. (16.5 x 10.2 cm)
Mary Arrington Small Estate Acquisition Fund and Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund
99.63
Not currently on view
Resources
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Portrait Collaborations 19th-Century Works from the Permanent Collection", May 31, 2001 - January 1, 2002
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.
