Winter on the Common, Boston
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Having originally set his sights on a career as a painter, Josiah Hawes gave up his brushes for a camera upon first seeing a daguerreotype in 1841. Two years later, he joined Albert Sands Southworth in Boston to form the celebrated photographic studio Southworth & Hawes. Turning to paper-based photography in the early 1850s, Hawes frequently depicted local scenery. This surprising picture, which presents Boston Common through a veil of snow-laden branches, shows that Hawes brought his creative ambitions to the nascent art of photography.
Artwork Details
- Title: Winter on the Common, Boston
- Artist: Attributed to Josiah Johnson Hawes (American, Wayland, Massachusetts 1808–1901 Crawford Notch, New Hampshire)
- Date: early 1850s
- Medium: Salted paper print from glass negative
- Dimensions: Image: 7 5/16 × 9 5/16 in. (18.5 × 23.7 cm)
Sheet: 7 5/16 × 9 5/16 in. (18.5 × 23.7 cm)
Mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Frame (approx): 16 x 20 - 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.2025.29.5
- Curatorial Department: Photographs