Portrait of a Woman
c. 1860
Medium
ambrotype with applied color
Dimensions
image (visible): 6.1 × 5.1 cm (2 3/8 × 2 in.) mat: 8.3 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 3/4 in.) case (closed): 9.4 × 8.3 × 1.7 cm (3 11/16 × 3 1/4 × 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
2023.39.29
Art Historical Context
Step into the intimate world of-19th-century American photography with this delicate *Portrait of a Woman*, created around 1860. Measuring just 6.1 × 5.1 cm, this tiny ambrotype—housed in a protective case—was likely a cherished personal keepsake, perhaps worn as a locket or kept close during the turbulent years leading to the Civil War. Produced by an anonymous American photographer, it captures the era's fascination with capturing likenesses affordably for everyday families. Ambrotypes, popular from the 1850s to 1860s, were unique glass-plate positives made by coating glass with collodion, ...
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 ...