Portrait of an Oil Lamp Filler

Art Historical Context

Step into the intimate world of 19th-century American photography with *Portrait of an Oil Lampiller*, a poignant ambrotype from the 1860s. This tiny gem captures an unidentified worker whose daily task was filling oil lamps—a vital job in an era before electricity lit homes and streets. Measuring just 6.6 × 5.4 cm, the image is housed in a protective case, suggesting it was a cherished personal memento, perhaps carried in a pocket or worn as a locket. Ambrotypes, popular from the 1850s to 1870s, were unique positives created on glass using the wet-collodion process. The photographer coated a...

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 ...