Jenny Lind
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Object Details
- Artist
- Unidentified Artist
- Copy after
- Samuel Root, 1819 - 1889 (Photographer)
- Marcus Aurelius Root, 1808 - 1888
- Sitter
- Jenny Lind, 6 Oct 1821 - 2 Nov 1887
- Exhibition Label
- Born Stockholm, Sweden
- Long a favorite in the opera houses of Europe, soprano Jenny Lind created a sensation when showman and impresario P. T. Barnum brought her to the United States in 1850 for a series of concert engagements. Whipped into a frenzy of expectation by Barnum’s masterful publicity campaign, the nation readily succumbed to “Lindomania.” Enthusiastic crowds mobbed the “Swedish Nightingale” at every stop throughout her tour, and concertgoers vied for tickets to her enormously popular performances.
- P. T. Barnum fanned the flames of “Lindomania” by staging highly publicized auctions at which eager bidders fought for tickets to Jenny Lind’s performances. In Philadelphia, daguerreotypist Marcus A. Root bid the princely sum of $625 to secure a concert ticket. His outlay may also have earned him the opportunity for a portrait session with the acclaimed singer, for a daguerreotype of Lind by “M. A. & S. Root” was among those produced during Lind’s tour. In response to popular demand, daguerreotype copies—such as this version of the Root brothers’ original—enjoyed wide circulation.
- Nacida en Estocolmo, Suecia
- Favorita de largo arraigo en las salas de ópera europeas, la soprano Jenny Lind causó sensación en Estados Unidos cuando el artista y empresario P. T. Barnum la trajo al país en 1850 para una serie de conciertos. Enardecida por la magistral campaña publicitaria de Barnum, la nación sucumbió rápidamente a la “lindomanía”. Entusiastas multitudes asediaban al “ruiseñor sueco” en cada parada de su gira y los melómanos se disputaban los boletos para sus codiciadas presentaciones.
- Para avivar la llama de la “lindomanía”, P. T. Barnum preparó subastas muy publicitadas donde los ansiosos postores se peleaban los boletos para las presentaciones de Jenny Lind. En Philadelphia, el daguerrotipista Marcus A. Root ofreció la espléndida suma de $625 por un boleto. Su derroche debe haberle ganado la oportunidad de una sesión fotográfica con la aclamada cantante, pues entre los daguerrotipos de Lind producidos durante su gira había uno de “M. A. & S. Root”. Para satisfacer la demanda popular, copias daguerrotípicas (como esta versión del original de los hermanos Root) gozaron de amplia distribución.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Irene Cooper Hustvedt and Ysabel Cooper Pine
- c. 1850
- Object number
- S/NPG.79.37
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Sixth-plate daguerreotype
- Dimensions
- Image/Sight: 7.1 × 5.9 cm (2 13/16 × 2 5/16")
- Mat (brass): 8.2 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 3/4")
- Case open: 9.4 × 16.8 × 2.1 cm (3 11/16 × 6 5/8 × 13/16")
- Case closed: 9.4 × 8.5 × 2.4 cm (3 11/16 × 3 3/8 × 15/16")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Interior
- Equipment\Shield
- Symbols & Motifs\Flag
- Weapon\Cannon
- Weapon\Cannonball
- Cased object
- Jenny Lind: Female
- Jenny Lind: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Opera singer
- Jenny Lind: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist
- Jenny Lind: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Singer\Soprano
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_S_NPG.79.37
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm433f9fe2b-220e-4424-9892-2e14a58af628
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