PHOTOGRAPHS
Holmes, Silas A. [attributed to]
U.S. (1820 - 1886)
Untitled (group portrait at Niagara Falls)
c. 1858
Hand-colored ambrotype (in case)
6 3/8 x 8 7/16 x 3/8 in. (16.2 x 21.4 x .95 cm) plate size; 7 1/16 x 9 1/16 in. (18 x 23 cm) overall case size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection
FA 2001.160

It is thought that the relatively unknown photographer Silas A. Holmes captured this group portrait at Niagara Falls around the end of the Civil War in 1865. Although the war had reduced the number of tourists to the site, visitors returned after the war’s end and gradually increased to the present number of ten million each year.

Although we do not know much about Holmes’s life and photographic career, we do know that he maintained a studio on Broadway in New York in the mid-nineteenth century and is said to have invented the multiple lens camera. He took many pictures of the buildings and downtown neighborhoods of New York, as well as images of Civil War devastation. From his studio in New York, Holmes often attracted the attention of people on the Broadway Bridge and took their photograph from the window. He even advertised in 1867 that his studio offered photographs of the bridge taken at every hour of the day. Two other images of Niagara Falls are included in 150 Works of Art. Both taken by unknown photographers, Niagara Falls and Ice Conditions at Niagara Falls Winter 1888 offer additional views of the incredible site. -- Label copy for 150 Works of Art, October 1, 2005 to February 26, 2006.

By the late 1860s, economic, technical, and cultural factors had combined to make itinerant photography a common profession. As photographers fanned out across America, they served remote rural areas and popular tourist sites in “studios” that ranged from canvas tents and crude wagons to portable “salons” complete with reception rooms. Some even traveled western rivers in “photographic boats.” The traveling photographer was a jack of all trades—not only a craftsman, but also a socializer, salesman, and storyteller. Success depended on his ability to produce photographs within minutes and his skill at attracting a wide range of clients. This group portrait is attributed to New York photographer Silas A. Holmes (1820-1886), an especially savvy promoter of his craft. In the nineteenth century, Niagara Falls was the pre-eminent American tourist destination, offering itinerant photographers a surplus of customers willing to pay top dollar to commemorate their adventures. -- Label copy for From Public to Private: The Evolution of Portrait Photography in Everyday American Life (1850-1900), March 10 to June 10, 2012.