Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/William Cranch

William Cranch


Perhaps the most amazing 19th century portrait I have ever seen, of a very elderly William Cranch, a DC judge and Reporter of Decisions for the U.S. Supreme Court. If this were taken 100 years later, I would have thought it was by Avedon or Arbus. However, given the time period it was likely taken with reverence rather than ironic distance, despite the subject looking like he was dressed and propped up for the occasion and may not have even understood what was going on. I have been unable to discover who the photographer was. Postdlf 03:11, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * This photo was taken at Mathew Brady's studio. Scans of the original daguerrotype plate at very high resolutions are available from the Library of Congress here. Because of the long exposure times in early photography, subjects had to strike poses that they could maintain for several seconds without moving. This almost by necessity reduces the number of available postures and expressions, and the result often appears pensive and introspective. --MarkSweep 16:16, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * Nominate and support. Postdlf 03:11, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose. I would say the portaits nominated here are, though surely well made, not very special. You know, just portaits. This one is also low res. Jonas Olson 09:47, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Support. This is very low resolution, and it is indeed just a portrait. Nonetheless, there the image has powerful clarity and artistry that exhibit the whole history of such a man. An image like this will embiggen the article it illustrates in a way that very few do. Matthewcieplak 10:58, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I was going to try uploading a higher quality version, but apparently this image is a retouching of the original, which is too messed up for my abilities. -- brian0918 &#153;  12:38, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Support. Power ful pic Circeus 23:27, Apr 25, 2005 (UTC)
 * Support --Fir0002 06:15, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Support - this picture has a very special atmosphere - Adrian Pingstone 15:07, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I've given up on finding a high-res version, so I'll support this one. -- brian0918  &#153;  16:38, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Oppose. Nice but nothing special. Enochlau 12:38, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Abstain - until someone can explain why the "atmosphere" is so special. - Pioneer-12 23:12, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Support - I don't care to speculate what the photographer is trying to do; this is an excellent picture. The hair and face are fantastic. I see an old man who's clearly been up to a lot over his lifetime, and looks intellectual, but is still an old man. In that respect, he looks real enough to look a bit silly in the clothes. It's like it's time for him to leave the strictures of the world he's in. --Sambostock 19:59, 7 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Support - if someone can retouch the original higher resolution version, it'd be a great illustration for an article (not yet written) on retouching. --jacobolus (t) 20:51, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
 * +8 / -2 / 1 neutral