Portrait of a Man

c. 1855

American 19th Century

Associated Names
This grayscale photograph features a seated man, shown from the knees up. His body is slightly turned to the right, but he looks out at us, one arm resting on his lap and the other propped against a small round table on the right. The man has dark skin, faint eyebrows, high cheekbones, a faint mustache, lips set in a neutral expression, and short, dark hair under a tall white top hat with a thick gray band around the center. He is dressed in a formal black suit with a white, high-collared shirt, a black bow tie, and a dark jacket with a velvet collar. He appears to have a ring on one finger. The background behind him is light gray. The photograph is bordered by an ornate golden frame.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

Article:  Rare Early Photographs of African American Life

A large collection of personal photographs offers a glimpse of Black entrepreneurship and self-expression in the 19th and 20th centuries.


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Marvin Lieber, Decatur, GA; George Whiteley, Atlanta, GA, 1980s; Ross Kelbaugh, Marriottsville, MD, 2018; NGA purchase, 2023.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

by Ross Kelbaugh, top edge of case in black ink on applied sticker: AF12D; top edge: 38.3.JHK


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