Alexander Hamilton Stephens
ArtistAfter
Mathew B. Brady
(American, 1823-1896)
Publisher
E. Anthony
(American)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1860
MediumAlbumen
DimensionsOverall, Support: 4 x 2 7/16 in. (10.2 x 6.2 cm)
Overall, Image: 3 3/8 x 2 1/8 in. (8.6 x 5.4 cm)
Overall, Image: 3 3/8 x 2 1/8 in. (8.6 x 5.4 cm)
InscribedHandrwritten below image on mount: "Alex H. Stephens". Written in pencil on reverse: "Alex H. Stephens / Vice Prest / of Conf"; "VP CSA". Imprint on reverse: "PUBLISHED BY / E. ANTHONY / 501 Broadway, / NEW YORK. / FROM / PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVE, / FROM / BRADY'S NATIONAL / Portrait Gallery." Paper label below imprint: "McALLISTER / & / BROTHER / 728 Chesnut Street / PHILADELPHIA".
Credit LineMuseum purchase and gift of Reid Diggs, Jr.
Object number90.100
Not on view
DescriptionThis albumen carte de visite is a three-quarter length portrait of Alexander Hamilton Stephens (1812-1883), Congressman, Governor of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confederacy. This portrait is a composite of a painted body and a photographic head. The mount is rectangular with rounded corners; double gilt lines border the image.Label TextAfter Mathew B. Brady American, 1823−1896 Alexander Hamilton Stephens, ca. 1860 Published by E. Anthony, New York, N.Y. Albumen print (photograph) When Lincoln served as a member of Congress from Illinois from 1847 to 1849, one of his closest allies was Georgia Congressman Alexander Stephens (1812−1883). Despite Stephens’ opposition to secession and moderate political views, he later became vice president of the Confederacy. In February 1865, Stephens met with his old friend Lincoln at Fort Monroe, Va., to negotiate for peace, but the talks failed. The Southerner was famously short and frail, but he appears robust in this image, a flattering montage of a photo of Stephens’ head atop a painted body. Museum purchase and gift of Reid Diggs, Jr. 90.100 Exhibition History"Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015.
