Name/Title
Charlotte Helen Middleton and Enslaved NurseEntry/Object ID
L.2011.001.1Description
George Smith Cook (American, 1819-1902)
Charlotte Helen Middleton with nurse, Lydia
Charleston, SC, 1857
Hand-tinted ambrotype, H. 3 3/4 x W. 2 3/4 inches
Lent by Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association, Charleston, SC, 1937.005.0010
The history of photography began in the nineteenth century with the invention of the daguerreotype, a new form of art that manipulated light and allowed artists to take the likeness of a sitter in a matter of minutes. Developed in 1839 by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, this new technology was introduced in American around 1840. In New Orleans, a young George Smith Cook (1819-1902) tediously practiced the art of the daguerreotype, noting the result of different light exposures and the camera position on the clarity and look of the plate. Smith spent most of the next decade traveling with his wife and children throughout the United States, and built his reputation as one of the nation's leading photographers. Journeying to South Carolina in 1849, Cook realized the lucrative potential for his craft in Charleston and set up a studio.
He was well established when, in his Charleston studio, he captured the images of then three-year-old Charlotte Helen Middleton (1854-1937), granddaughter of Alicia Hopton Russell Middleton, and an enslaved household nurse identified by the donor as Lydia. Both sitters gaze intently at the photographer, blond-haired Charlotte comfortably settled in her caregiver's lap. In contrast, Lydia sits erect, with her hair completely covered in a textile whose complex wrapping echoes styles worn by her African ancestors. A plaid scarf covers her shoulders and she wears an apron over her patterned-fabric dress.Collection
Gibbes Museum of Art C/O: Historic Charleston FouLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term
AmbrotypeNomenclature Secondary Object Term
Positive, DirectNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsIntake
Loan In
L.2011.001Lender
Angela Mack, CuratorDate Returned
Feb 1, 2011Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
January 12, 2011Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
December 7, 2012