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Mathew B. Brady
John Draper
1856
Ambrotype, 1/2 plate
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object No: NPG.2010.33
LL/113650
Exhibition label
Scientist John W. Draper’s pioneering investigations of radiant energy were critical to the emerging field of spectrum analysis. His study of the properties of light also led him to experiment with photography. In partnership with Samuel F. B. Morse in 1840, Draper opened a daguerreian portrait studio on the rooftop of the New York University building where he chaired the medical school’s departments of chemistry and physiology.
The oval die stamp visible in the lower left corner of this portrait’s brass mat indicates that Brady produced this ambrotype of Draper was produced using methods patented by American photographer James A. Cutting in 1854.
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