The image shows an elderly woman standing slightly leaning against a stack of logs. She is facing forward with her body and her right hand resting on the logs. Her left hand holds what seems to be a closed umbrella or parasol. She has distinctive facial features, including high cheekbones and a kind expression, dark skin, and a defined jawline. She wears a dark shawl, a long sleeve dress, a light-colored apron tied around her waist, a dark bonnet covering most of her hair, small earrings in each ear. In the background, there is a wooden structure resembling a shed, a board pathway cutting through an area filled with wood, and a large tree. The setting appears to be outdoors in a rustic environment.
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The image shows an elderly woman standing slightly leaning against a stack of logs. She is facing forward with her body and her right hand resting on the logs. Her left hand holds what seems to be a closed umbrella or parasol. She has distinctive facial features, including high cheekbones and a kind expression, dark skin, and a defined jawline. She wears a dark shawl, a long sleeve dress, a light-colored apron tied around her waist, a dark bonnet covering most of her hair, small earrings in each ear. In the background, there is a wooden structure resembling a shed, a board pathway cutting through an area filled with wood, and a large tree. The setting appears to be outdoors in a rustic environment.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

"Posing for Her First Picture"

Keystone View Company

Date
c. 1890
Medium
stereoscopic collodion print
Dimensions
image (each): 7.6 × 7.6 cm (3 × 3 in.) sheet: 7.6 × 15.4 cm (3 × 6 1/16 in.) mount: 8.9 × 17.8 cm (3 1/2 × 7 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
2023.39.131
Credit line
Ross J. Kelbaugh Collection, Purchased with support from the Ford Foundation
Time span
1876 to 1900
Department
CPH

Subjects and terms

  • portrait
  • American
  • Woman
  • African American
  • Stereograph
Provenance

Ross Kelbaugh, Marriottsville, MD; NGA purchase, 2023.

Inscription

along left edge of mount printed in black ink: Keystone View Company,; along right edge: Meadville, Penna.; bottom right: 268-Posing for her first Picture.; on verso, by Ross Kelbaugh, top right in graphite: AF070F / 9.2021JLX [underlined] / F

NGA object ID 227149. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.