Portrait of his son, Francis George Claudet

ca. 1855

French, 1797-1867

The French-born Claudet was one of the great photographic innovators of the nineteenth century. He was one of the first practitioners of the daguerreotype in England, and he invented such staples as the light meter and the red darkroom light. In 1851 he opened a lavish studio in London and was later named court photographer to Queen Victoria. This seemingly casual portrait of his son derives some of its flinty presence from the fact that the sitter had to hold the pose for at least three minutes.

Calotype

7 1/4 x 5 11/16 in. (18.4 x 14.5 cm)

Overall h.: 17 11/16 in.

Overall w.: 13 3/4 in.

Floyd A. Naramore Memorial Purchase Fund

76.65

Provenance: [Lucien Goldschmidt, Inc., New York]; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1976

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, 200 Photographs from the Museum Collection, Dec. 8, 1983 - Feb. 5, 1984. Text by Rod Slemmons. No cat. no.

Seattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, Portrait Collaborations 19th-Century Works from the Permanent Collection, May 31, 2001-Jan. 1, 2002.

Seattle, Wash., Seattle Art Museum, A Willful Innocence: Victorian Prints and Photographs, Sept. 12, 1996-June 1, 1997.

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