Thomas LeClear’s Interior with Portraits shows a pivotal moment in history when the arrival of photography challenged the long-standing dominance of traditional painting. For centuries, families relied on painters to immortalize their loved ones, commissioning vibrant, often life-sized portraits. But with the invention of the daguerreotype in 1839, an alternative emerged: small, monochrome photographs that, while less colorful, offered an unprecedented level of realism.
This unsigned, undated painting is attributed to LeClear, who was a genre and portrait painter with studios in New York City, based on family accounts suggesting it was created around 1865. According to these stories, the painting was commissioned by the elder brother of the two children depicted. The backstory adds complexity, however. The boy in the image had recently died—not as the child shown here, but as a 26-year-old firefighter who perished in a hotel fire. His sister, also shown, had died over 15 years earlier during her adolescence. Many contemporary viewers feel the boy appears eerily lifeless, almost resembling a preserved figure.
Given the absence of live models, LeClear may have relied on daguerreotypes of the deceased siblings to accurately capture their likenesses. This decision placed him at the heart of a contentious debate. At the time, many painters felt threatened by photography and resisted using it as a tool, emphasizing the unique qualities of painting. By incorporating photography into his work, LeClear directly engaged this controversy.
In the painting, the photographer is shown from behind, hidden under his cloth as he operates a wet collodion camera, a model not available until 1860. This detail helps date the painting and suggests LeClear’s deliberate commentary on the tension between painting and photography. But how has photography changed the art world in the following years you may wonder. The answer can be found in our online course, available here with a -25% discount!
P.S. Can photographs capture ghosts? Discover haunting Victorian spirit photography! For more interesting photography stories, see the articles below.