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The Met Just Received a Monumental Gift of 700 Historic Photographs—See the Early Tintypes, Daguerrotypes, and More Here

by admin
Jan 6, 2020
artnet

A major gift of more than 700 historic photographs to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art is poised to “rewrite the narrative
of American photography,” said museum curator Jeff Rosenheim
in a statement.

The cache of images dating from the 1840s to the 1910s comes
from the storied collection of William Schaeffer, a specialist in
19th-century photography, and is a gift promised to the museum by
trustee Philip Maritz and his wife Jennifer. The collection is
now on view in the exhibition “2020 Vision: Photographs, 1840s–1860s,” on the
occasion of the museum’s 150th anniversary.

The invention of photography, in 1839, predates the founding of
the museum by three decades and the exhibition highlights its early
achievements, such as salted paper prints, daguerrotypes, tintypes,
cyanotopes, platinum, and gelatin silver prints. The works on view
span a range of perspectives and experiments within the medium,
including portraiture, landscape tableaux, and documentary works,
giving insight into the world as seen through the eyes of early
practitioners, as well as the process-based developments in the
medium.

See images below from “2020 Vision: Photographs,
1840s–1860s,” on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May
10, 2020

Unknown American, Studio photographer
at work (ca. 1855). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.

Attributed to McPherson & Oliver, Our Scouts and Guides in 1863 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1860s). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Attributed to McPherson & Oliver, Our
Scouts and Guides in 1863 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1860s).
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

James Fitzallen Ryder, Locomotive James McHenry, Atlantic and Great Western Railway (1862). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

James Fitzallen Ryder, Locomotive
James McHenry, Atlantic and Great Western Railway (1862).
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Josiah Johnson Hawes, Winter on the Common, Boston (1850s). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Josiah Johnson Hawes, Winter on the
Common, Boston (1850s). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.

E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., Specimens of New York Bill Posting (1863). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

E. & H. T. Anthony & Co., Specimens
of New York Bill Posting (1863). Courtesy of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

R.C. Montgomery, Self-portrait (1850s). Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

R.C. Montgomery, Self-portrait
(1850s). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Andrew Joseph Russell, Street Scene, Culpeper, Virginia, March 1864 (1864). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Andrew Joseph Russell, Street Scene,
Culpeper, Virginia, March 1864. Courtesy of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

Lewis Dowe, Dowe's Photograph Rooms, Sycamore, Illinois, 1860s (1860s). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lewis Dowe, Dowe’s Photograph Rooms,
Sycamore, Illinois, 1860s. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art.

Lewis Dowe, Dowe's Photograph Rooms, Sycamore, Illinois, 1860s (1860s). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lewis Dowe, Dowe’s Photograph Rooms,
Sycamore, Illinois, 1860s. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art.

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Smoke From Australia’s Devastating Wildfires Has Forced the Closure of the National Gallery in Canberra

Jan 6, 2020
artnet

As devastating wildfires continue to rage in Australia, Canberra’s National Gallery has been forced to temporarily shut down as a protective measure. Air quality conditions in the city have deteriorated due to smoke from the worst bushfire season in modern history, and opening the building’s doors could jeopardize the artwork. The move marks the first time in...

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The Met Just Received a Gift of 700 Once-Cutting-Edge Images That Bring the World of the 1800s to Vivid Life—See Them Here

Jan 6, 2020
artnet

A major gift of more than 700 historic photographs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is poised to “rewrite the narrative of American photography,” said museum curator Jeff Rosenheim in a statement. The cache of images dating from the 1840s to the 1910s comes from the storied collection of William Schaeffer, a specialist in 19th-century photography, and...

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