Niagara Falls in Winter
Artist
Platt D. Babbitt
(American, 1823 - 1879)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1855
MediumHalf plate daguerreotype
DimensionsOverall, Image: 3 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (8.9 x 12.1 cm)
Overall: 4 7/8 x 6 in. (12.4 x 15.2 cm)
Overall: 4 7/8 x 6 in. (12.4 x 15.2 cm)
InscribedOn the mat: Babbitt N. Falls
Credit LinePurchase, Horace W. Goldsmith and Art Purchase Funds
Object number95.24
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a half-plate daguerreotype of eight people, some holding umbrellas, in front of Niagara Falls.Label TextPlatt D. Babbitt American (d. 1879) Niagara Falls, ca. 1855 Daguerreotype Purchase, Horace W. Goldsmith and Art Purchase Funds 95.24 ~ Although not the first, Platt D. Babbitt was the primary daguerreotypist of Niagara Falls during the 1850s. Controlling the pavilion area which offered the best general view of the falls, he built a lucrative photography business with Niagara as a backdrop, selling daguerreotypes to an endless stream of tourists. He also produced views of the falls from other locations and in other media, including stereographs. For more than a century, Niagara Falls has been one of the most photographed places in the world. Within The Chrysler Museum of Art's collection alone there are more than 125 different photographs of Niagara - more than any other single subject. Most are 19th-century stereographs made primarily for the tourist trade. With its never-ending torrent of pure and powerful water, the waterfall was an archetypal metaphor for America's 19th-century artists, its surging water symbolizing the onward rush of a new and dynamic nation. To Americans at the time, Niagara Falls represented the ultimate manifestation of God in nature, and portraying that image was a reverential experience for the artist. Edited By: GLYExhibition History"Photography Remembered: A Selective View from the Robert W. Lisle Collection," The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, October 19, 1990 - January 13, 1991. "Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25,1996 - February 16, 1997 "History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, June 15 - August 22, 1999. "Mirror Images: Daguerre and the First Photographic Process," International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum, July 7 - October 1, 2001. Published ReferencesPHOTOGRAPHY REMEMBERED: A SELECTIVE VIEW FROM THE ROBERT W. LISLE COLLECTION (Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1990), reproduced in color p. 39.
