A collection of early American photography from Larry J. West has been acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, transforming the museum’s holdings. The collection includes 286 pieces which dates between the 1840s and around 1925.
The works acquired include pictures by some of the most prominent early Black photographers in the U.S., among them James P. Ball, Glenalvin Goodridge, and Augustus Washington. With the acquisition, the Smithsonian now owns more daguerreotypes by these three photographers than any other institution. And because many of the daguerreotypes are encased in ornate frames, they are unique.
The collection also includes photographic jewellery that is a cross between miniature paintings and early cased images such as daguerreotypes, tintypes and ambrotypes. They include brooches, bracelets, and rings containing miniature portraits. There are also locks of hair attached to some of these intimate objects as they were often created to remember the departed.
Lonnie G. Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian, said in a statement, “As a historian, I especially value Larry’s persistent pursuit of artworks and material culture that serve to illuminate an important time in the history of this nation and will help future historians and visitors to the Smithsonian understand the early American experience in a more inclusive manner.”
