The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 23, 2025

Young Man in Athletic Outfit

c.1857

attributed to Oliver H. Willard

(American, 1828–1875)
America
salted paper print from wet collodion negative
Image: 21.5 x 16.5 cm (8 7/16 x 6 1/2 in.); Paper: 22.4 x 17 cm (8 13/16 x 6 11/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Gift of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro 2003.304
Location: Not on view

Description

During this era, people played recreational sports in attire resembling street clothes; this man’s outfit suggests that he was an acrobat or circus performer. It was common in the 19th century to photograph workers with the tools of their trade or in apparel unique to their profession. Photography collectors later labeled that type of photograph as an “occupational.”
  • 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=Young Man in Athletic Outfit|url=false|author=Oliver H. Willard|year=c.1857|access-date=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.304