[Three Children]

[Three Children]
[Three Children]
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • [Three Children]
Date1870s
MediumTintype
DimensionsImage: 8 3/8 × 6 in. (21.3 × 15.2 cm)
Sheet: 8 3/8 × 6 in. (21.3 × 15.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mike and Mickey Marvins
Object number2015.599
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Special Collections
Object Type
DescriptionEven as the daguerreotype process died out in the 1850s, its cheaper and more durable cousin, the tintype, continued to be popular for decades. At the low end, the products of itinerant artisans or run-of-the-mill studios exhibited little artistry but still provided people with a treasured record of their own faces or those of loved ones. At the high end, great care was given to the studio setup, the posing, and the preparation of the finished product, as in this beautiful tintype of three children dressed in their Sunday finest and bound together as a family unit through their poses. The photographer or his assistant has given a touch of extra life and richness with a hint of rouge retouching on the cheeks and a sparkle of gold on the pendant, ring, and watch fob.
Provenance Research Ongoing Exhibition History“A Photographer’s Collection: Gifts from Michael and Michele Marvins,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 4–July 5, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso upper right on torn sheet of lined paper adhering to tintype in ink: $17.00 [written over $1.00 in red ink]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

[Two Children with Dog]
1860s
Tintype
2018.155
Untitled
1870s
43 gem tintypes in an album
2004.1465.1-.43
Untitled
1867
Tintypes
2004.1466.1-.47
[Two Girls]
c. 1870
Tintype
86.485
[Seated Woman]
c. 1870
Tintype
86.484
[Two Boys]
c. 1870
Tintype
86.483
[Girl with Book]
c. 1870
Tintype
86.482
[Man with Bow Tie]
c. 1875
Tintype
86.481
Untitled
c. 1865
Tintypes
2004.1453.A-.D
[Standing Man with Hat and Cane]
1870s
Tintype with thermoplastic frame
2022.738
second half of the 19th century
Tintype
84.114