Untitled (Charles Coit)
c. 1855
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.3 × 7.1 cm (3 5/16 × 2 13/16 in.); Open case: 9.3 × 16.2 × 1 cm (3 11/16 × 6 7/16 × 7/16 in.); Case: 9.3 × 8.1 × 1.8 cm (3 11/16 × 3 1/4 × 3/4 in.); Plate: 8.3 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 3/4 in.)
Classification
portrait
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
250079
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Daguerreotypes—brilliant photographs on metal plates—memorialized families with the first widely affordable images. The technology was especially popular in the 1840s and 1850s, an era of higher mortality rates. Daguerreotypists employed the slogan “Secure the shadow, ere the substance fade” to encourage sitters to visit the photographer’s studio before it was too late. This is one of a rare group of five images that tracks a single family over several years, including a period of mourning. Most...
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...