[Portrait of Major Anderson] 1856 - 1859

Curator: I'm struck by the rather solemn feeling conveyed in this image. Editor: Agreed. We're looking at a gelatin silver print, produced between 1856 and 1859. It's titled "[Portrait of Major Anderson]" and the photographer, Horatio Ross, has created a very stately impression. Look at the fine grain, achieved through the printing process, bringing depth to the textures of the fabric. Curator: Yes, there’s a deliberateness. Notice how his somewhat stern gaze connects directly with the viewer. It creates a directness despite the physical distance and the passage of time. His holding a document, and the cane… they speak of authority, or at least a certain gravitas expected from someone in his position. Editor: The composition, with Major Anderson seated slightly off-center, also reinforces a feeling of accessible power, wouldn’t you say? The dark coat contrasts nicely with what seems to be an unstarched white shirt, a casual, and almost nonchalant signifier of upper-class nonchalance. Curator: And there is the detail of the cane. Its presence seems ceremonial as well. Canes and walking sticks are well-worn, symbolic shorthand that is coded for ideas about power, but in this image, there also might be another reason. Major Anderson may actually use it. Editor: An excellent observation. He certainly anchors himself well on that metalwork bench, an object that signifies a well-kept, yet lived-in domestic space. His coat also shows signs of real wear. He’s presented to us as a real human, not just as some symbolic construction of manhood and authority. Curator: He represents a tension of accessibility and an expectation of the powerful, something I find really compelling. It prompts me to question our understanding of the figures that wield symbolic or societal authority in our present. Editor: The tension between manufactured public identity and the intimate details of how lives are really lived continues to fascinate and is revealed here. This portrait certainly holds many complex visual insights on class, presentation and time.