On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Moon
John William Draper American
Not on view
Draper, a physician and professor of chemistry at New York University, was the first to produce a successful daguerreotype of the moon. On March 16, 1840, he wrote in his laboratory notebook, "This evening I exposed a prepared plate to the moonbeams which had been conveyed by a double convex lens." In this plate, a halo-like vignette encircles the image of the moon, creating a crescent shape that evokes the lunar phases. Despite his accomplishment, Draper’s efforts received only modest recognition from his contemporaries; until recently his lunar daguerreotypes were believed to be lost.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.