[Three Painters, Arranged On and Around a Ladder, with Brushes, Bucket, and Paint Can]
1870s–80s
![[Three Painters, Arranged On and Around a Ladder, with Brushes, Bucket, and Paint Can] by Unknown](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/three-painters-arranged-on-and-around-a-ladder-291867.webp)
Medium
Tintype with applied color
Dimensions
Image: 8.7 x 5.9 cm (3 7/16 x 2 5/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Herbert Mitchell, 2008
Accession Number
2015.400.133
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming tintype from the 1870s or 1880s captures three men playfully posed as painters, arranged on and around a ladder with brushes, a bucket, and a paint can. The unknown photographer created an intimate occupational portrait, highlighting the camaraderie and everyday tools of working-class laborers—likely house painters—during America's Gilded Age. At just 8.7 x 5.9 cm, its diminutive size suggests it was a personal memento, treasured by one of the subjects or their family. The medium, a tintype with applied color, exemplifies 19th-century photographic innovation. Tintypes, produced ...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...