[Unknown Subject]
![[Unknown Subject] by John and Charles Watkins](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/unknown-subject-686108.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Approx. 10.2 x 6.3 cm (4 x 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Albert Ten Eyck Gardner Collection, Gift of the Centennial Committee, 1970
Accession Number
1970.659.769
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate albumen silver print from the 1860s, created by the British photographic duo John and Charles Watkins captures an unknown male subject in a classic carte de visite format—measuring just 10.2 x 6.3 cm. These pocket-sized portraits exploded in popularity during the Victorian, serving as affordable calling cards exchanged among friends, family, and admirers, much like modern trading cards. The Watkins brothers renowned for their crisp studio work in London, mastered this medium to produce sharply detailed images that brought photography into everyday life. The albumen process, usin...
About the Artist
John and Charles Watkins · 1840–1875
**John and Charles Watkins: Pioneers of Victorian Portrait Photography** John Watkins (1823–1874) and his younger brother Octavius Charles Watkins (1836–1882) were prominent British portrait photographers whose collaborative studio captured the luminaries of Victorian Britain.) Born in Raglan, Monmouthshire, Wales, John began his career around 1840, establishing a studio at 34 Parliament Street i...