2023 Symposium Presentation: The American Art Union and the Daguerreian Art

The American Art Union and the Daguerreian Art by Carlos Vertanessian Photo historian, dealer, and collector Carlos Vertanessian discusses the previously unknown connections between the American Art-Union – started in New York in 1838 – and the daguerreotype. The AAU’s goal was to enlighten and educate the American public to a national art and to provide a venue for the exhibition and sale of art by contemporary and emerging American artists. While conducting research on Charles DeForest Fredricks in South America, Vertanessian encountered a direct link between the activity of Fredricks’s gallery and the AAU. Subsequent research revealed that many other daguerreotypists were active members of the AAU Presented at the 2023 Daguerreian Society Symposium on September 29, 2023.