Portrait of a Girl and Postmortem Child
c. 1860
Medium
ambrotype with applied color
Dimensions
image (visible): 6.2 × 8.7 cm (2 7/16 × 3 7/16 in.) mat: 8.2 × 10.8 cm (3 1/4 × 4 1/4 in.) case (closed): 11.6 × 9.4 × 1.9 cm (4 9/16 × 3 11/16 × 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection, Purchased with support from the Ford Foundation
Accession Number
2023.39.9
Art Historical Context
This poignant *Portrait of a Girl and Post Child* (c. 1860) captures a deeply personal moment from mid-19th-century America a time when photography was revolutionizing how families preserved memories amid high mortality rates from disease and the Civil War. The anonymous artist, working in the American tradition, depicts a living girl tenderly holding a deceased infant—likely her sibling—reflecting the Victorian-era practice of postmortem photography. These images served as cherished mementos, offering solace to grieving families who could not afford painted portraits. Crafted as a hand-tinte...
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 ...