Joseph C. G. Kennedy, Superintendent of the Census

Mathew B. Brady American, born Ireland

ca. 1857

Not on view

By the mid-1850s, the popularity of the one-of-a-kind daguerreotype was giving way to the advantages of reproducible paper prints from collodion-on-glass negatives. Matthew Brady, who learned the technique of the daguerreotype from Samuel F. B. Morse, was an early and active practitioner, eventually presiding over two gallery establishments in New York and one in Washington, D.C. He adopted the collodion process around 1854 and used it to assemble his documentation of the Civil War. Here, in an intriguing combination of the two techniques, Brady used a glass negative to re-photograph a daguerreotype portrait of a government bureaucrat, creating a strangely poetic picture of a picture.

Artwork Details

Title: Joseph C. G. Kennedy, Superintendent of the Census
Artist: Mathew B. Brady (American, born Ireland, 1823?–1896 New York)
Date: ca. 1857
Medium: Salted paper print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 22.5 x 15.9 cm (8 7/8 x 6 1/4 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Object Number: 2005.100.312
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

By Mathew B. Brady

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Abraham Lincoln, Mathew B. Brady American, born Ireland, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Abraham Lincoln
Mathew B. Brady
Publisher Edward Anthony
Person in Photograph Abraham Lincoln
February 27, 1860

Powder Horn, Horn (cow), lead, American — Powder Horn
American
18th century

The Refectory of the Imperial Asylum at Vincennes, Charles Nègre French, Salted paper print from glass negative — The Refectory of the Imperial Asylum at Vincennes
Charles Nègre
1858–59

Second Corps Hospital, Washington, D.C., Mathew B. Brady American, born Ireland, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Second Corps Hospital, Washington, D.C.
Mathew B. Brady
ca. 1863

Gorget for an Officer of the South Carolina Infantry Regiment, Brass, gold, American — Gorget for an Officer of the South Carolina Infantry Regiment
American
late 18th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.