Untitled (Portrait of a Woman) 1857

This portrait of an unknown woman is a photograph, specifically an ambrotype: a unique image made directly on glass. The process involved coating a glass plate with light-sensitive chemicals, exposing it briefly in a camera, and then developing the image. Unlike later photographic prints that could be endlessly reproduced, each ambrotype is a singular object. The delicate, ghostly tonality wasn't achieved with brushstrokes but with light, chemistry, and time. This was a new kind of portraiture, more accessible than painting, but still precious. Consider the sitter's dress. The plaid shawl speaks of industry and trade, and the fur stole suggests luxury, both made available by the labor of many hands. The intricate case, too, shows a society valuing craft and ornamentation, even as industrialization changed the very nature of work. It invites us to reflect on photography's impact. It blurred the lines between art and commodity, democratizing image-making while also transforming it into a business.