Portrait of a child (father reaching into frame)
Artist
Unknown
Dateca. 1850
MediumDaguerreotype
DimensionsPlate (sixth): 3 1/4 × 2 3/4 inches (8.26 × 6.99 cm)
Case (open): 3 5/8 × 6 3/8 × 3/8 inches (9.21 × 16.19 × 0.95 cm)
Case (closed): 3 5/8 × 3 1/8 × 5/8 inches (9.21 × 7.94 × 1.59 cm)
Case (open): 3 5/8 × 6 3/8 × 3/8 inches (9.21 × 16.19 × 0.95 cm)
Case (closed): 3 5/8 × 3 1/8 × 5/8 inches (9.21 × 7.94 × 1.59 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.55
Signednone
Inscribednone
Markingsnone
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a seated child with a man reaching into frame to hold the child's right arm. This sixth plate daguerreotype is housed in a brass mat inside of a brown leather case with gold trim and a red velvet liner.Exhibition HistoryRotation 25. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, October 19, 2018- March 17, 2019, no cat.
One of the earliest photographic techniques, daguerreotypes required exposure times of several seconds. Movement during exposure would result in blurred details, and young children, with their tendency to squirm, posed a challenge. As seen in this portrait, parents often acted as “braces” to keep their children from moving.
Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1999;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc., to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc., to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
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