Untitled (Portrait of a Man with Top Hat)
1854
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.2 × 7.5 cm (3 1/4 × 3 in.); Case, no cover: 9.4 × 8 × 0.9 cm (3 3/4 × 3 3/16 × 3/8 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
249930
Art Historical Context
Step into the dawn of photography with *Untitled (Portrait of a with Top Hat)*, captivating daguerreotype from 1854 created by an unknown maker. This intimate portrait captures a dignified man in formal attire, his top hat a hallmark of mid-19th-century fashion, gazing steadily at the viewer. Measuring just 8.2 × 7.5 cm and housed in a protective case, its petite scale was typical for daguerreotypes—unique, one-of-a-kind images prized as personal treasures. Invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839, the daguerreotype process marked photography's revolutionary debut, transforming portraiture from pai...