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[Man Reclining]

ca. 1850
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
The insouciant subject here may be the daguerreotypist himself, posing in bed for a promotional picture or a private joke. His rumpled suit and haphazard hairstyle affect intimacy, perhaps in an effort to showcase an informal portrait style. Because they required long exposure times, daguerreotypes often captured sitters at their most stilted. With this surprising picture, the maker might have hoped to attract clients who were in search of a more novel or natural likeness.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: [Man Reclining]
  • Artist: R. G. Montgomery (American, active 1850s)
  • Date: ca. 1850
  • Medium: Daguerreotype with applied color
  • Dimensions: Image: 3 1/4 × 4 1/4 in. (8.3 × 10.8 cm)
    Case (open, approx): 7 3/8 in. x 4 5/8 in.
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: William L. Schaeffer Collection, Promised Gift of Jennifer and Philip Maritz, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
  • Object Number: L.2019.57.60
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs