Portrait of a Soldier
c. 1863
Medium
ambrotype with applied color
Dimensions
image (visible): 5 × 3.7 cm (1 15/16 × 1 7/16 in.) mat: 6.4 × 5 cm (2 1/2 × 1 15/16 in.) case (closed): 7.4 × 6.3 × 1.7 cm (2 15/16 × 2 1/2 × 11/16 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
2023.39.60
Art Historical Context
**Portrait of a Soldier**c. 1863 *American 19th Century* Ambrotype with applied colorNational Gallery of Art, J. Kelbaugh Captured around 1863 amid the American Civil War, poignant *Portrait of a Soldier* exemplifies the era's booming popularity of photography as a personal memento. Ambrotypes, produced via the wet-collodion process glass plates, were affordable accessible alternatives to daguerreotypes, allowing everyday soldiers to send images home to loved ones. This tiny portrait—measuring just under 2 inches tall—likely served as a cherished token of remembrance, evoking the human fa...
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 ...