Self-Portrait
Artist
Alexander Gardner
(American (born Scotland), 1821 - 1882)
CultureAmerican
Date1863
MediumAlbumen print (carte-de-visite)
DimensionsOverall: 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. (8.9 x 5.7 cm)
Credit LineGift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange
Object number98.32.294
Not on view
Label TextAlexander Gardner
American, 1821−1882
Self-Portrait, 1863
Albumen print (photograph)
Alexander Gardner took this self-portrait in May 1863, shortly after opening his studio and gallery in Washington, D.C. Recently he had quit his job as an assistant in Mathew Brady’s large photography firm and had begun developing his own thriving business making portraits and fulfilling government commissions. Notice the elaborately carved and upholstered Bembe & Kimbel “House of Representatives” armchair in which he sits. Dozens of politicians and military leaders, including Lincoln, later posed for their portraits in this same grandiose chair, a centerpiece of Gardner’s studio.
Gift of David L. Hack and Museum purchase, with funds from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., by exchange 98.32.294
Exhibition History"Shooting Lincoln: Photography and the 16th President," Chrysler Museum of Art, February 10 - July 5, 2015.
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