[Eugene Benson]
1860s
![[Eugene Benson] by Maurice Stadtfeld](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/eugene-benson-685392.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Approx. 10.2 x 6.3 cm (4 x 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Albert Ten Eyck Gardner Collection, Gift of the Centennial Committee, 1970
Accession Number
1970.659.50
Tags
Art Historical Context
This albumen silver print from the 1860s captures a formal portrait of Eugene Benson, created by photographer Maurice Stadtfeld. Measuring just 10.2 by 6.3 centimeters, the image exemplifies the intimate scale of cartes de visite, a popular format that allowed photographs to be collected and exchanged like calling cards during the Victorian era. Albumen prints were the dominant photographic process of the time, prized for their rich tonal range and fine detail achieved by coating paper with egg-white emulsion. Stadtfeld’s work reflects the growing accessibility of portrait photography in the ...