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    In Focus: Daguerreotypes

    November 3, 2015–March 20, 2016

    Getty Center

    Portrait of a Daguerreotypist Displaying Daguerreotypes and Cases

    Portrait of a Daguerreotypist Displaying Daguerreotypes and Cases, 1845, maker unknown, hand-colored daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Portrait of a Woman

    Portrait of a Woman, 1844, Auguste Belloc, daguerreotype. Courtesy of the Graham Nash Collection

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    Portrait of Louis-Jacques-Mandé

    Portrait of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, 1848, Charles Richard Meade, hand-colored daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

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    Still Life with Plaster Casts

    Still Life with Plaster Casts, 1839-42, Baron Armand-Pierre Séguier, daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

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    Portrait of a Daguerreotypist Displaying Daguerreotypes and Cases

    Portrait of a Daguerreotypist Displaying Daguerreotypes and Cases, 1845, maker unknown, hand-colored daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Facade and North Colonnade of the Parthenon on the Acropolis

    Façade and North Colonnade of the Parthenon on the Acropolis, Athens, 1842, Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

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    Portrait of a Man in a Top Hat

    Portrait of a Man in a Top Hat, 1850s, maker unknown, daguerreotype. Courtesy of the Graham Nash Collection

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    Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe

    Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, 1849, maker unknown, daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Fugitive Slave Law Convention, Cazenovia, New York

    Fugitive Slave Law Convention, Cazenovia, New York, August 22, 1850, Ezra Greenleaf Weld, daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

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    Early Operation Using Ether for Anesthesia

    Early Operation Using Ether for Anesthesia, 1847, Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes, daguerreotype. The J. Paul Getty Museum

In Focus: Daguerreotypes

November 3, 2015–March 20, 2016, Getty Center

/ Plan your visit

Shortly after the daguerreotype process was announced in January of 1839, its powers as “nature’s pencil” captured the imagination of the public, many of whom had not yet seen a photograph in person. A direct positive image fixed on a sensitized silver-coated plate in a camera obscura, the daguerreotype was popularly described as a “mirror with a memory.”

This exhibition presents a selection of one-of-a-kind images from among the Museum’s two thousand daguerreotypes, alongside those from the collection of Graham Nash. The works on view provide a unique vantage point from which to relive the initial shock of photography and to compare its early presence in the world with its omnipresence today.

RELATED EVENTS

A variety of special programs complement the exhibition. All events are free, unless otherwise noted. Seating reservations are required. For reservations and information, please call (310) 440-7300 or see information on planning a visit.

TALK

In the Shades on Mirrors: Daguerreotypes as Micro-Monuments for the Atomic Age
Since 2010, photographer Takashi Arai has used the daguerreotype technique to create individual records, or “micro-monuments,” of his encounters with nuclear sites in Japan—from Hiroshima to Fukushima. In this talk, he discusses his work and his belief that daguerreotypes are both a reliable device for storing memory and a superior medium for recording and transmitting interactions with his subjects than modern photography. Free; advance ticket required.

Thursday, November 5, 7:00 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum Lecture Hall

COURSE

Artist at Work: Daguerreotypes
Drop by as photographer Luther Gerlach demonstrates the materials and techniques used to make daguerreotypes, the earliest form of photography, invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. Daguerreotypes were a wildly popular medium for portraiture into the mid-1850s. Free; no ticket required.

Sundays, November 15–December 6, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum Studios

TOUR

Curator’s Gallery Tour
Karen Hellman, assistant curator of photographs, the J. Paul Getty Museum, leads a gallery tour of the exhibition. Free; no ticket required. Meet under the stairs in the Entrance Hall.

Tuesday, December 8, 2:30 p.m.
Getty Center: Museum galleries

MOBILE TOUR

Free GettyGuide® Multimedia Player

Mobile Gallery Icon
Musician and photographs collector Graham Nash comments on several works on view in the exhibition. Pick up a multimedia player free of charge in the Museum Entrance Hall.

VIDEO


Early Photography: Making Daguerreotypes
Learn a brief history of the daguerreotype—and how one is made—in this short video.

PUBLICATION

Publications are available in the Getty Museum Store, by calling (310) 440-7333, or online.

Exhibition Checklist

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