House on a Hillside
c. 1850
Medium
daguerreotype
Dimensions
image (visible): 6.6 × 9 cm (2 5/8 × 3 9/16 in.) mat: 7.6 × 10.2 cm (3 × 4 in.) case (closed): 9.4 × 12 × 1.7 cm (3 11/16 × 4 3/4 × 11/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund
Accession Number
2015.57.2
Art Historical Context
Step into the dawn of photography with *House on a Hillside a captivating daguerreotype from around 1850, created by an anonymous American artist. This petite image (just 6.6 × 9 cm) captures a modest dwelling perched on a gentle slope, framed by the natural contours of the American landscape. Encased in a protective 9.4 × 12 cm leather or thermoplastic case—typical for the era—it offers an intimate glimpse into mid-19th-century rural, where homes like this dotted the countryside amid westward expansion and agrarian ideals. As one of the earliest photographic mediums, the daguerreotype revolu...
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 ...