Rufus Choate (1799-1859), one of America's most capable lawyers and statesmen, served in both the state and federal government and was known for his classical orations. It is not surprising that Southworth & Hawes, whose studio adjoined Choate's law office, asked him to pose. Only after repeated requests from the photographers, who promised the sitting would take only fifteen minutes, did the busy lawyer agree. On the appointed day, Choate posed four or five times with the appropriate props-a law book and a bust of an orator-before rushing back to his client-filled office. Choate's famous wild locks, disheveled clothing, and haggard features are recorded in this faithful portrait of an overworked man who frequently suffered from debilitating headaches yet was driven by a prodigious nervous energy and an intense love of his profession.
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Title:Rufus Choate
Photography Studio:Southworth and Hawes (American, active 1843–1863)
Artist:Albert Sands Southworth (American, West Fairlee, Vermont 1811–1894 Charlestown, Massachusetts)
Artist: Josiah Johnson Hawes (American, Wayland, Massachusetts 1808–1901 Crawford Notch, New Hampshire)
Date:ca. 1850
Medium:Daguerreotype
Dimensions:20.4 x 15.3 cm (8 x 6 in.)
Classification:Photographs
Credit Line:Gift of I. N. Phelps Stokes, Edward S. Hawes, Alice Mary Hawes, and Marion Augusta Hawes, 1937
Object Number:37.14.48
Marking: Hallmark, BR: S&F in lozenge [see Spirit of Fact (Sobieszek and Appel, 1976) #4, p. 152]
Edward S. Hawes, Alice Mary Hawes, and Marion Augusta Hawes; [Holman's Print Shop, Boston]; I.N. Phelps Stokes, New York, 1937
Choate's law office adjoined Southworth and Hawes's studio.
Biography: American lawyer and politician Rufus Choate (1799-1859), renowned for his elegant oratorical style, served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1825-26), the state senate (1827), and the U.S. Congress as a Whig (1830-34), before establishing a law practice in Boston (his office adjoined the studio of Southworth and Hawes). He was a faithful supporter of Daniel Webster and lobbied for his presidential nomination in 1852. He backed the Comprimise of 1850; his opposition to slavery stopped short of supporting a war between North and South, and he refused to join the Republican Party.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Daguerreotypes and Photographs (Centenary of the Invention of Photography)," November 4–December 7, 1939.
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. "The Spirit of Fact: The Daguerreotype of Southworth & Hawes, 1843–1862," February 1976–June 1976.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. "The Spirit of Fact: The Daguerreotype of Southworth & Hawes, 1843–1862," July 1976–December 1976.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "The Spirit of Fact: The Daguerreotype of Southworth & Hawes, 1843–1862," January 1977–February 1977.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Photographs from the Permanent Collection," June 1–August 1, 1980.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Johnson Gallery, Selections from the Collection 8," March 14–June 11, 1995.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Johnson Gallery, Selections from the Collection 9," June 12–August 28, 1995.
International Center of Photography. "Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes," June 17, 2005–September 4, 2005.
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. "Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes," October 1, 2005–January 8, 2006.
Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy. "Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes," January 28, 2006–April 9, 2006.
Stokes, Isaac N. Phelps. The Hawes-Stokes Collection of American Daguerreotypesby Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1939.
Moore, Charles LeRoy. "Two Partners in Boston: The Careers and Daguerreian Artistry of Albert Southworth and Josiah Hawes." Master's thesis, University of Michigan, 1975. no. 121.
Sobieszek, Robert A., and Odette M. Appel. The Spirit of Fact: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes, 1843–1862. Rochester: George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, 1976. no. 1.
Romer, Grant B., and Brian Wallis, ed. Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes. New York: George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, 2005. no. 123.
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![[Nancy Southworth Hawes and her son Edward]](/Rodan/dist/svg/no-image-image-related.svg)
