Opium smoker
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert O. Dougan Collection, Gift of Warner Communications Inc., 1981
Accession Number
1981.1229.51.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1867, British photographer William Thomas Saunders captured *Opium Smoker*, an evocative albumen silver print from a glass negative that offers a stark glimpse into mid-19th-century Chinese. Working primarily in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Saunders in documenting everyday life among the Chinese populace, producing intimate portraits and genre scenes popular among Western expatriates and collectors. This photograph, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Robert O. Dougan Collection, exemplifies his focus on "types"—stereotypical representations of local customs and trades. The albumen process...