Portrait of a Woman
1860s
Medium
albumen print (carte-de-visite)
Dimensions
image/sheet: 9.5 × 5.7 cm (3 3/4 × 2 1/4 in.) mount: 10.1 × 6.1 cm (4 × 2 3/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Funds from Robert B. Menschel and the Vital Projects Fund
Accession Number
2022.174.15
Art Historical Context
In the 1860s, at the height of the carte-de-visite craze, photographer J. F. Getman created this intimate *Portrait of a Woman*. This small albumen print, measuring just 9.5 × 5.7 cm, depicts an unidentified sitter with quiet dignity, her direct gaze inviting viewers into a moment frozen in time. Carte-de-visites—visiting-card-sized photographs—became wildly popular in America and Europe, functioning as affordable personal tokens exchanged among friends, family, and admirers, much like today's social media selfies. The albumen process, pioneered in the 1850s, involved coating paper with egg w...