![Unknown, [Portrait of a Seated Man Holding a Key]](https://media.getty.edu/iiif/image/4846678d-fd41-4779-b620-f6a139dab061/full/!1400,/0/default.jpg)
[Portrait of a Seated Man Holding a Key]
about 1844
- Medium
- Daguerreotype
- Dimensions
- 7 × 5.7 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-518177
People often chose to be photographed with objects that defined who they were or how they wished to be seen. This sitter, with his muttonchop whiskers and elegant dress, clutches his coat lapel with his left hand. In his right hand, which rests on a chair back, he holds a rather large key, yet the style of his clothing does not suggest that he was a locksmith. The significance of the key no longer unlocks the mystery of its holder's identity, which has been lost over time.
Provenance
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Registry history
- about 1844 — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum — photographs
Registered on Collect24
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