[Sir William Boxall] 1860s

This photograph of Sir William Boxall was taken in London by John and Charles Watkins sometime in the mid-19th century. Boxall served as director of the National Gallery in London from 1866 to 1874. Cartes-de-visite like this became hugely popular in the 1860s. Produced using a photographic printing process that allowed for mass reproduction, they offered a relatively inexpensive way to share images of oneself or to collect images of notable figures. The proliferation of photographic portraits had a democratizing effect, challenging the traditional association of portraiture with wealth and status, yet it also fueled the celebrity culture. As director of the National Gallery, Boxall stood at the center of this changing landscape. The existence of this photograph speaks to how visual representation was evolving, and how institutions like the National Gallery were responding to social change. Understanding a work like this demands that we consider social and institutional contexts. The historian's work is to unearth these layers of meaning through archival research, offering new ways to interpret an image like this.