Untitled
1850/59
Medium
Salted paper print
Dimensions
Image: 21 × 16.5 cm (8 5/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Mount: 22.5 × 19.2 cm (8 7/8 × 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
salted paper print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
154300
Art Historical Context
This salted paper print, created by O. H. Willard between 1850 and 1859 represents one of the earliest forms of photography to enter museum collections. The medium itself was a groundbreaking innovation pioneered in the 1830s, involving the coating of paper with silver salts to produce a direct positive image from a paper negative. These prints are known for their matte surface and delicate tonal range, giving them a soft, almost hand-drawn quality that bridged painting and the emerging science of photography. Dating to the mid-nineteenth century, this work captures a pivotal moment when phot...