Young America “The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes”

From 1845 to 1862, the Boston partnership of Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes maintained the most celebrated photography studio in the United States. Taking as their subjects both the greatest personalities of the day and the natural spectacles of the American landscape, such as Niagara Falls, Southworth & Hawes elevated the new medium of daguerreotype photography to the level of art. Transcending the mere recording of factual detail, their daguerreotypes reflect a quintessentially American aesthetic and embody an emerging national culture and spirit. Young America will be the most significant publication to date on Southworth & Hawes, featuring full-scale color reproductions of all plates in the exhibition as well as 2,000 additional black-and-white illustrations.