Untitled (Portrait of a Seated Man)
1855
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
21.7 × 16.5 cm (8 9/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Open case: 23 × 37.6 × 1.1 cm (9 1/16 × 14 13/16 × 7/16 in.); Case: 23 × 18.8 × 2.1 cm (9 1/16 × 7 7/16 × 7/8 in.); Plate: 21.6 × 16.6 cm (8 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
portrait
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
249886
Art Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, at the dawn of photography's golden age, Rufus Anson crafted this *Untitled (Portrait of a Seated Man)* in 1855 using the daguerreotype process—a pioneering technique invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839. Housed in an ornate case measuring about 23 × 18.8 × 2.1 cm, this intimate 21.7 × 16.5 cm silvered copper plate captures a single, unique image that shimmers like a mirror when tilted, demanding the viewer's active gaze. Anson, a skilled New York daguerreotypist, exemplifies the era's portrait specialists who turned everyday sitters into dignified subjects. Daguerreoty...