Portrait of a woman
Dublin Core
Title
Portrait of a woman
Subject
Portrait of woman with hand-painted cheeks, next to a table and vase. Page 11 of album in IV-8.
Description
This photograph, entitled “Portrait of a Young Woman”, shows an image of a young and stylish African American woman. Sporting a Victorian silhouette familiar to the period, and shows that she may have existed as a middle or upper-class citizen from the middle class. The woman’s dress is a fully black silhouette defined by the presence of: a large hooped skirt, a fitted bodice, white and black ruffles, lace, and sparkling additions along the length of her bodice and jacket. This woman stands in front of an elaborate background in the middle of a hallway. A towering white pillar that stands behind her and intricate molding runs alongside the bottom of the wall marking the location as a space of luxury. Her right hand is placed gently on the table next to her, where a tall white vase stands holding an array of flowers. The greenery and flowers painted on the frame of the photograph mirror the flowers in a vase to the right of the portrait’s subject. The greenery along the frame allows the viewer to see the level of sophistication and class that this woman possessed.
Creator
Thatcher's Portraits
Source
Loewentheil Collection of African-American Photographs
Publisher
Kroch Library, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Date
c. 1860s
IIIF Item Metadata
UUID
976a19bf-7f2e-4d0a-94d5-2e610357bcba
Collection
Citation
Thatcher's Portraits, “Portrait of a woman,” The Power of Portrayal: Envisioning Women's Representation, accessed May 5, 2024, https://cornellcolab.net/suffrage/items/show/6.