Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, VA (now WV)
ArtistAttributed to
James Presley Ball
(American, 1825 - 1904)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1845
MediumQuarter plate daguerreotype
DimensionsOverall, Support (Case, closed): 3 3/4 × 4 1/2 × 7/8 in. (9.5 × 11.4 × 2.2 cm)
Other (Case, opened): 7 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 7/8 in. (19.1 × 11.4 × 2.2 cm)
Other (Case, opened): 7 1/2 × 4 1/2 × 7/8 in. (19.1 × 11.4 × 2.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank
Object number2019.16
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a 1/4-plate daguerreotype in a stamped leather case. It depicts the Greenbrier resort. A large group of men posed in front of a whitewashed rail fence are visible.Label Textbottom right Attributed to J. P. Ball American, 1825–1904 Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, VA (now WV), ca. 1845 Daguerreotype This daguerreotype is exceedingly rare. It was made by a Virginia-born African American daguerreotypist, one of only a few known photographers of color at the time. It depicts a historic Virginia resort, of which only one other photograph from this period exists. Born free in Frederick County, J.P. Ball learned photography from John B. Bailey, another African American artist, in 1845, shortly before he made his image. Ball opened studios in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Helena, and Honolulu. Active in politics, he also worked with a group of artists to exhibit an anti-slavery panoramic painting that toured the country. Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2019.16Exhibition History"5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019. “A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845,” High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, September 15, 2023 - January 14, 2024; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, February 01, 2024 - July 01, 2024; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, September 01, 2024 - January 01, 2025.Published References"Daguerreian Annual" for 1996, page 120. Deborah Willis, "J.P. Ball, Daguerrean and Studio Photographer," (New York : Garland Pub., 1993.), 219. Gregory J. Harris and Sarah Kennel, _A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845_ (New York: Aperture with the High Museum of Art, 2023_) 33.
