Portrait of a Family

c. 1850

James McClees, Washington L. Germon

Associated Names
James McClees

Artist, American, 1821 - 1887

Washington L. Germon

Artist, American, 1823 - 1877

The image shows a group portrait of six individuals arranged in two rows. Three individuals are seated in the front row, while three others stand behind them. The seated woman in the center holds an open book and wears a dark dress and a white lace cap. To her left is a man in formal attire, with a bow tie and a coat, holding a book. To her right is a man in a dark suit, white shirt, and bow tie. In the back row, two women and one man stand. The women wear dark dresses with light collars, and the man has slicked-back hair. All individuals have neutral expressions. The backdrop is a simple, uniformly dark background, and the portrait is framed with an ornate border inside a decorative case.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    daguerreotype

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon

  • Dimensions

    image (visible): 13.7 × 11.7 cm (5 3/8 × 4 5/8 in.)
    mat: 16 × 14.3 cm (6 5/16 × 5 5/8 in.)
    case (closed): 18 × 16 × 2.5 cm (7 1/16 × 6 5/16 × 1 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2025.12.9


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Janet Lehr, East Hampton, NY; Mary and Dan Solomon, Dana Point, CA; gift to NGA, 2025.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

on paper mat, bottom center printed in gold: M'Clees & Germon, cor. 8th and Chestnut Sts., Philada


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