Untitled [portrait of a young girl] 1858 - 1869

This portrait of a young girl was made using the daguerreotype process, by Jeremiah Gurney in the United States, some time in the mid-19th century. Considered the first publicly available photographic process, daguerreotypes were extremely popular, particularly for portraiture. In the early to mid-1800s, paintings were expensive and time-consuming to create. Photography offered a faster and more affordable option, which democratized portraiture. As a result, figures from different social classes could have themselves and their loved ones depicted. That said, these portraits were often highly staged, with the subjects carefully posed and dressed up, as we can see here with this young girl in her finest clothes. Looking at studio records, newspaper advertisements, and other related ephemera helps us to understand the aspirations of those who sat for such portraits, and the evolving social role of photography in nineteenth-century America.