Untitled (Portrait of a Man)

Art Historical Context

This intimate *Untitled (Portrait of a Man, created in 1880 by an unknown maker, captures the stoic gaze of its subject in a tintype—a pioneering 19th-century photographic. Tintypes, produced on thin sheets of iron coated with collodion, were direct positive images that required no negative, making them quick, inexpensive, and portable. At just 4 × 3 inches on the plate (mounted on an 11 × 8.5 cm card), small format was ideal for personal keepsakes, often carried in wallets or lockets. By 1880, tintypes had become wildly popular in America, especially among working-class families, as photogra...