Daguerreotype portrait of Samual F, B. Morse c 1850 – courtesy Library of Congress
Toronto. American Sam Morse planned to be an artist. He was in France in the late 1830s pursuing his artistry when he met Louise Daguerre in 1838. The following year, he enthusiastically embraced the Daguerreotype technology and brought the new art to America where an exuberant and boisterous population embraced it warmly.
Planted in fertile ground, the art exploded in its use. Photographers and studios grew like weeds (Morse had his studio by 1840 and later trained many budding photographers like the civil war photographer Matthew Brady). By the late decades of the 19th century the forefront of this art had shifted to America with the likes of T & H Anthony and Eastman Kodak,
Meanwhile, Samual Morse became a household name a few years later as the inventor of the telegraph and the Morse code. …
All this is from an email I received a couple of days ago from Les Jones (sports photographer, author, entrepreneur, and past president of the PHSC).
Les wrote in part, the “Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, temporary exhibit presents “The New Art: American Photography 1839-1910” drawn from the Schaeffer Collection.
“222 (mainly impressive) images, most never seen before, and a few 19th century cameras. www.metmuseum.org Through July 20″ 2025.
Les gives his source as, the “Extensive write-up in Antiques & Auction News May 16”.
Be sure to click on and read the links in this post!
NB. The post title is a riff on the 1984 classic song by Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It“, sung here by the lady herself.
