untitled

ca. 1840s

The daguerreotype, invented in 1830, could achieve a precision of detail that made it an ideal medium for portraiture. The woman holds a daguerreotype portrait in her lap, presumably of a dead family member. This physical manifestation of memory was one of the chief functions of early photography.

Daguerreotype

5 x 3 3/4 x 3/4 in. (12.7 x 9.5 x 1.9 cm), overall

Gift of the Estate of Myron Ogden

91.56

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

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