Artwork Page for Twin Babies

Details / Information for Twin Babies

Twin Babies

c. 1870

Davis Brothers

(American)
Culture
America
Medium
salted paper print, hand-colored
Measurements
Image: 24 x 19.2 cm (9 7/16 x 7 9/16 in.); Paper: 29.2 x 25 cm (11 1/2 x 9 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro 2003.302
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Color photography was not widely available until the 20th century, but 19th-century photographs could be embellished with hand-applied paints or dyes for an extra charge. Hand coloring, often done by women, usually was limited to adding dabs of pink on lips and cheeks or gold on jewelry, but sometimes, as here, the entire surface would be covered to emulate a painting. The edges of this mount are covered with trial dabs of watercolor that would have been hidden by the mat. Once portraits leave the context of the family, the identities of the sitters are most often lost, as is the case for these twins. Since the Davis Brothers’ studio was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, around this time, one can assume the twins lived there.
An oval-oriented, hand-colored print depicts two babies with light skin tones sitting side-by-side. Seated in a large armchair with a dark, carved wooden frame and teal upholstery, both wear white dresses with blue ribbons at the shoulders. The baby on our left gazes away with an open mouth, while the one on our right looks toward us. To our right, vertical watercolor strokes of pink and purple mark the paper.

Twin Babies

c. 1870

Davis Brothers

(American)
America

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