Portrait of a Native American Man
c. 1860
Medium
ambrotype
Dimensions
image (visible): 6 × 4.8 cm (2 3/8 × 1 7/8 in.) mat: 8.3 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 3/4 in.) case: 9.4 × 8.2 × 1.9 cm (3 11/16 × 3 1/4 × 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Funds from Clinton and Jean Wright
Accession Number
2023.116.1
Art Historical Context
This poignant *Portrait of a Native American Man*, created by an anonymous American photographer around 1860, captures the dignified gaze of its subject in a diminutive ambrotype—a pioneering wet-collodion process on glass that produced one-of-a-kind positive images. Measuring just 6 × 4.8 cm, this intimate format was ideal for personal keepsakes, housed in a protective case typical of mid-19th-century photography. Ambrotypes flourished in the 1850s and 1860s as an affordable alternative to daguerreotypes, democratizing portraiture during America's turbulent pre-Civil War era. This image refl...
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 ...