Through the Looking Glass: Daguerreotype Masterworks from the Dawn of Photography

More than a century before digital camera phones became part of daily life and long before the use of film in modern photography, an early successful photographic technique swept both sides of the Atlantic. Daguerreotypes, the images made from this method, are the focus of an exhibition on view April 10 through June 14, 2015, at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Through the Looking Glass: Daguerreotype Masterworks from the Dawn of Photography brings together a comprehensive collection of close to 150 daguerreotypes, offering an extensive look at this 19th-century medium. The show, which is the largest ever of its type in this region, includes all the major genres of the form – portraiture, landscapes, architectural studies, occupationals, erotic stereoviews, and post-mortems. All the objects come from the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg of Westchester County, New York, and many of them have never been exhibited before.

The set of eight postcard-size reproductions of daguerreotypes, measuring 5" x 7", is enclosed in a tri-fold paper case. Information about the image is included on the back of each postcard. (April 2015) 

Mary-Kay Lombino is the Emily Hargroves Fisher 1957 and Richard B. Fisher Curator and Assistant Director for Strategic Planning at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College.