Untitled (Portrait of Girl)

Art Historical Context

This delicate daguerreotype, created in 1860 by the renowned Boston firm Southworth & Hawes, captures a young girl in a moment of quiet poise. Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes were among the most celebrated early American photographers, known for elevating the daguerreotype from mere record to expressive portraiture. Their work often emphasized natural lighting and thoughtful composition, bringing a sense of dignity and individuality to their sitters. The daguerreotype process, introduced in 1839, produced a unique, highly detailed image on a silvered copper plate—one of the first practical methods of photography. By 1860, this medium was already giving way to newer techniques, making surviving examples like this one especially valuable. The small, cased format protected the fragile surface while allowing the portrait to be treasured as a personal keepsake, reflecting photography’s growing role in family life during the mid-nineteenth century. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, this intimate portrait invites us to consider how early photography transformed the way people preserved memory and identity.