The Public Portrait

In the hand out called Presenting the Self, the section titled The Public Portrait truly fascinated me. Dating back many years ago during the early and mid 1800's people used a cumbersome apparatus which were wooden cameras and tripods. Obviously through the years of innovation and advancment in technology we can now film and photograph with objects that fit in the palm of our hands. Gallaries began to grow within the United States causing an " Institution of Photography" which we still have around today. We have many gallaries scattered through out our country especially in New York City. The reading elaborates on how the viewer of a portrait would gaze intimately (as if through a one-way mirror). It obvious that even back then there was such a passion for art and early century as well had a large portion of creativity and imagination.

The first printed gallery with publication was in 1846 by John Plumbe called The National Plumbeo type Gallery and the Plumbeian. The galleries were for people of all types including the rich and middle class making it a suitable atmosphere for everyone. Portraits were all over the walls of the galleries and majority of them were of people with high rank. Kings, Queens and Military officers were but a few who were observed. To read and see what our history was all about really is amazing to me. From the looks of it, the people in early centuries sound like us today but just visualized in black and white through observation.