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Open 10:00–5:00

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Portrait of a Boy

c. 1858

Charles H. Williamson

Associated Names

Charles H. Williamson

Artist, American, born Scotland, 1826 - 1874

The image shows an upper-body portrait of a young boy seated in a three-quarter pose, facing slightly to the left. He has a serious expression with dark, neatly combed hair. The boy is wearing a dark-colored jacket with a high collar and a white shirt, with a small patterned bow tie around his neck. His attire is adorned with a United States flag pin and a decorative button on his lapel. The photograph is framed in an ornate gold-colored mat typical of 19th-century photography. The background of the image is a solid dark color.

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Artwork overview

Medium

daguerreotype with applied color
Credit Line

Gift of William L. Schaeffer, in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of Photography at the National Gallery of Art
Dimensions

image (visible): 7.4 × 6 cm (2 15/16 × 2 3/8 in.)
mat: 8.1 × 7 cm (3 3/16 × 2 3/4 in.)
case (closed): 9.4 × 8.1 × 1.6 cm (3 11/16 × 3 3/16 × 5/8 in.)
Accession Number

2015.118.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

William L. Schaeffer, Chester, CT; gift to NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Schaeffer, William L.

Exhibition History

2015

Celebrating Photography at the National Gallery of Art: Recent Gifts, Washington, DC, November 1, 2015–February 28, 2016

Inscriptions

on brass mat, lower left embossed: C.H. WILLIAMSON / BROOKLYN, N.Y.

Wikidata ID

Q64145750

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