Artwork Page for Wife

Details / Information for Wife

Wife

c. 1860–65

America

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Medium
ambrotype, hand-tinted
Credit Line
The Julius L. Greenfield Photography Acquisition Fund 2022.11.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

In the early decades of photography, many people did not know how to pose for the camera.

Description

You rarely see a smiling portrait from the mid-19th century. Having your photograph taken was a serious and rare endeavor, plus it was difficult to hold any animated expression long enough for the exposure times required by the early processes. Sitters were instructed to find ways to keep from moving, such as clasping their hands. The woman here has taken the photographers’ cautions to an extreme, resulting in a tense and unflattering portrait.
A vertically oriented, hand-tinted ambrotype depicts a woman with a light skin tone from the waist up, facing us directly. Her dark hair is parted in the middle and pulled back, her cheeks touched with pink. She wears a dark, grid-patterned dress with a white collar, her hands clasped at her waist. The portrait is set within an ornate, rectangular golden frame with a scalloped inner border.

Wife

c. 1860–65

America

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