More than 200 pictures in a new exhibition trace 300 years of American image-making, demonstrating the parallel relationship between photography and the nation’s history.
Washington, DC’s Smithsonian National Museum of American History Henry Fitz Jr.’s self-portrait from 1840 (Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC)Washington, DC’s Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Henry Fitz Jr.’s self-portrait from 1840 (Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington, DC)
Henry Fitz Jr. created one of the first selfies ever in 1840 with a homemade copper plate, keeping his eyes closed to avoid blinking and ruining the shot. By producing this eye-catching blue picture, he was not only capturing his look but also turning America’s first writings into a work of art.
