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The portrait of John Brown [left] was taken around 1846 while the portrait of businessman
Urias Africanus McGill [right] was taken in the mid-1850s. During this ten year
period, the artistry of the daguerreotype developed into a complex arrangement of dramatic
lighting, elaborate backgrounds, artificial coloring, and fancy presentations mats similar
to that used in the daguerreotype of McGill. The commercial success of the
daguerreotype attracted an ever increasing number of aspiring photographers to the field
and spurred the opening of a number of related businesses, including case makers, plate
manufacturers, and other supply houses. The invention of faster and less cumbersome
photographic processes contributed to the decline of the daguerreotype by 1860.
[Photographs Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution] |
