Untitled (unidentified sitter) c. 1858

Editor: Here we have an intriguing portrait of an unknown sitter by John Adams Whipple. It’s an early photograph, very sepia-toned. What’s particularly interesting to you about it? Curator: I'm drawn to the material process. Think about the labor and science involved in early photography. Each print was a negotiation with light, chemicals, and time. How do these material constraints influence the image we see? Editor: So, it's more than just a portrait, it's also about how it was made? Curator: Precisely. Consider the consumption of images during this period; photography democratized portraiture, impacting social hierarchies around representation. It changed labor, too. What does this say about Victorian values, or the role of craftsmanship? Editor: I see what you mean. It’s not just about who is in the photo, but also about how photography itself was changing society.