The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
Two Men Staging a Fight in a Studio
c. 1860
Case: 6.7 x 8 cm (2 5/8 x 3 1/8 in.); Matted: 61 x 48.3 cm (24 x 19 in.)
Location: Not on view
Description
Although portrait sittings were directed by the photographer, sitters had some input in shaping their identities by choosing their pose, clothing, possessions, and sometimes backdrop. People came to the studio dressed in their finest outfits, and they often brought objects to represent their interests or occupation, such as the tuning fork held by the music teacher. Hand painting could draw attention to luxury items, as in Young Woman with Pantalettes, where her jewelry is dabbed with gold paint and the lacy cuffs of her pantalettes are enhanced with white paint. Most people had only a few photographs made during their lifetimes; therefore, they were often used to mark rites of passage such as graduation and marriage.- Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro, New York, NYDecember 1, 2003The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Cheating Death: Portrait Photography’s First Half Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 22, 2016-February 5, 2017).
- {{cite web|title=Two Men Staging a Fight in a Studio|url=false|author=|year=c. 1860|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.303