George E. Lane, Jr.

Art Historical Context

Step into the intimate world of 19th American portraiture with *George E. Lane,.*, an ambrotype created around 1855. This small, gem-like photograph captures the solemn gaze of its young subject, likely a boy or young man, framed in a protective case that measures just 11.8 × 9.5 × 2 cm when closed. Produced by an anonymous American photographer, it exemplifies the democratizing power of early photography, which made professional portraits accessible to middle-class families during a time of rapid technological and social change in the United States. Ambrotypes, invented in the mid-1850s, wer...

About the Artist

American 19th Century

The artist cataloged as "American, 19th Century" represents a collective of unidentified painters active in the United States during the nineteenth century, with 380 known artworks preserved in this virtual museum's collection. These works span a diverse array of genres typical of the era, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes, reflecting the burgeoning artistic output of ...