Untitled (Portrait of Seated Woman) 1860

This portrait of a seated woman was made by John Adams Whipple using the daguerreotype process, one of the earliest forms of photography. It was a cutting-edge technology back then. The image is captured on a silver-plated copper sheet, which has been treated with chemicals to make it light-sensitive. After a long exposure in the camera, the image is developed using mercury vapor, resulting in a delicate, one-of-a-kind picture. The plate’s surface has a mirror-like sheen, and its fragile materiality demanded protection under glass. The image is housed in a decorative case, much like a precious jewel. The daguerreotype was a labor-intensive process, requiring specialized knowledge and equipment, so it offered an interesting new commercial opportunity. Although it was quickly superseded by other photographic methods, it represents a key moment in the history of image-making, when science and art converged to capture a likeness with unprecedented accuracy. It shifted the creation of portraits from the laborious handcraft of painting, to something available to the rising middle classes.