Through the Looking Glass

Daguerreotype Masterworks from the Dawn of Photography

October 22 – December 31, 2016

South Bend Museum of Art continues its popular Robert C. Shields American Series with the exhibition, Through the Looking Glass: Daguerreotype Masterworks From The Dawn of Photography. The exhibition features a selection of 145 photographs, mostly made in America, but also demonstrating work from France, England and the Mideast. All the major collecting genres are represented, including portraiture, landscapes, erotic stereos, post-mortems, and slavery subjects.

Invented in 1839, the daguerreotype is the chameleon of photography: open up its jewel-like leather or thermoplastic case and see yourself reflected in the mirror of the silver surface, now view it from another angle and see a startling negative image, now from yet a third angle and see the positive image revealed in its infinite detail and three-dimensionality – it takes your breath away. It is indeed a mirror held up to the soul of its subject, a time-machine to a bygone era.

This collection features both cased examples, mostly American, and larger framed plates, primarily European. Rarities include artistic whole plates of Boston’s upper crust by Southworth & Hawes; one of the earliest photos of Jerusalem, an archaeological whole plate by Girault de Prangey; and an important, unpublished gold-rush daguerreotype featuring a female miner.

All works are from the collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg.
This exhibition was organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions.

Related programming features events for all ages and interest levels, including a bi-weekly call for theme-based photograph submissions via the SBMA’s Instagram account in the exhibit, Through My Lens .

Through The Looking Glass is made possible with Support from:

The South Bend Museum of Art’s 2016-2017 Exhibition Program is made possible, in  part, with support from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Arts Everywhere initiative.

Jack Champaigne
The Muessel-Ellison Memorial Trust Foundation
Robert C. Shields Memorial Fund        The Art League

HALLMARK
ArtsEverywhere Fund of the
Community Foundation of St. Joseph County
Jack Champaigne
IMAGING
The Art League
The Muessel-Ellison Memorial Trust Foundation
The Robert C. Shields Memorial Fund
Teachers Credit Union
SILVER
Burkhart Advertising
MERCURY
Lynda B. & Charles S. Simon
Mr. & Mrs. L. Brown Sanders
Visit South Bend Mishawaka
COPPER
Susan Shields
Barbara & Stephen Fredman
Mrs. James Walton
PRESERVER
Lynn Blue
Suzanne Miller
Marcia Rickard & Dennis Doordan
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Q. Stifel
Doreen Zisla
VIGNETTE
Dayle Brown & David Piser
Judith Chase
Ann Dean
Anne Feferman
Drs. Tom & Susan Fischbach
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Guentert
Michelle Kuehn
Susan L. Moore
Susan Ohmer & Donald Crafton
Elizabeth Overmyer
Steel Warehouse Co., Inc.
Nanci Yokom
PORTRAIT
Kari Black
Mary Jane Buzolich
Sharon Donlon
Claudia A. Maslowski
Kathleen Petijean
Susan R. Visser