José María Mora was born into one of the wealthiest families in Cuba and trained to be a painter. The Cuban uprising of 1868 forced him to flee to New York, where he became a retoucher for Napoleon Sarony and eventually opened his own studio. To set himself apart from the rest of the trade, Mora claimed he could offer his sitters a greater number and variety of backdrops than any other working photographer. He retouched this portrait to suggest snow falling, but was careful not to obscure the faces of his two clients.

Nacida en Londres a una familia teatral, Fanny Davenport había establecido su reputación en el escenario como el personaje Lady Gay Spanker en la farsa Garantía de Londres (London Assurance) poco antes de que se tomó esta fotografía. Aquí, Napoleon Sarony la muestra interpretando el personaje, posando ante un fuego de chimenea cuidadosamente pintado.

Born in London to a theatrical family, Fanny Davenport had established her stage reputation as the character Lady Gay Spanker in the farce London Assurance shortly before this photograph was taken. Here, Napoleon Sarony shows her in character, posed before a carefully painted-in hearth fire.

Clara Morris, bailarina convertida en actriz, fue ampliamente alabada a principios de la década de 1870 por su capacidad de transmitir la profundidad emocional y psicológica de sus personajes escénicos. Visitó el estudio de retratos de Napoleon Sarony como parte de una estrategia para ampliar su base de admiradores y, de este modo, obtener mayor control sobre su carrera.

A dancer turned actor, Clara Morris was widely heralded in the early 1870s for her ability to convey the emotional and psychological depth of her stage characters. She visited Napoleon Sarony’s portrait studio as part of a strategy to broaden her fan base and thereby gain more control over her career.

El fotógrafo Napoleon Sarony adoptó con entusiasmo el papel de excéntrico de alta alcurnia. Adornó el exterior de su estudio con su nombre en letras de varios metros de altura, y a menudo se paseaba por Broadway con su característico fez y un elaborado uniforme de su propia cosecha. Su personalidad extravagante y su capacidad de transmitir una atmósfera de inmediatez en sus imágenes lo convirtieron en el fotógrafo de retratos más aclamado y solicitado de la Ciudad de Nueva York durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX.

Photographer Napoleon Sarony wholeheartedly embraced the role of debonair eccentric. He adorned the outside of his studio with his name in letters that were several feet high, and he often strolled down Broadway wearing his signature fez and an elaborate uniform of his own making. His outsized personality and ability to convey an atmosphere of immediacy in his images made him New York City’s most heralded and sought-after portrait photographer throughout the second half of the nineteenth century.

A principios de la década de 1860, los estadounidenses coleccionaban e intercambiaban ampliamente las cartes de visite, o “tarjetas de visita”. Las dejaban en las entradas de las casas para anunciar sus visitas, las enviaban por correo y las guardaban en álbumes con ranuras especiales. Aunque el pequeño formato de las tarjetas limitaba su capacidad para transmitir detalles o emociones, su inmediatez visual transmitía una profunda experiencia de conexión.

In the early 1860s, Americans collected and shared cartes de visite, or “calling cards,” widely. They left them in home entryways to announce their visits, sent them through the mail, and saved them in specially slotted albums Although the cards’ small size limited their ability to convey details or emotions, their visual immediacy delivered a deeply felt sense of connection. Unfortunately, within a short time of their introduction, an oversupply of cartes de visite sent the photography market into a financial tailspin.