Untitled (Portrait of a Seated Man in Military Uniform) 1847

Editor: Here we have John H. Fitzgibbon's "Untitled (Portrait of a Seated Man in Military Uniform)" from 1847, a daguerreotype held at the Art Institute of Chicago. It feels so incredibly raw, this early photograph, almost like a glimpse into another world. What's your take on this work? Curator: My eyes are drawn to the daguerreotype itself, a material object born from a specific chemical and industrial process. It’s not just a representation; it’s a material record of a historical moment. What can this early photographic process tell us about the socio-economic conditions and access to technology at the time? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way! I was mostly looking at the sitter's expression. Curator: Consider the labor involved, not just of the photographer but the industrial workers who produced the materials. How does the act of early portrait photography relate to class, and the consumption of images in the mid-19th century? The availability, the cost... Editor: Right, because getting a painting done was just for the wealthy, while photography starts to change that, little by little... Curator: Exactly! Think of the frame, too. The materials speak volumes about the intended audience, the market for these early images. The means of production of photographic materials dictated who could be photographed, by whom and for what price. Does this affect the realism? Editor: So, looking at this less as a window and more as a physical artifact shaped by social and economic factors gives it a whole new depth. I see now! Curator: Precisely. We must remember art, even photography, is not created in a vacuum, it's product, labor, materiality all in one. I now look differently at portraits in this medium.