Moses Williams, Cutter of Profiles. Attributed to Moses Williams, c. 1803.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Mr. Shaw’s Blackman. Attributed to Moses Williams,
after 1802.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
The ledger book of William Bache, c. 1803–1812.
William Bache traveled the country cutting and selling silhouettes. This ledger is from his time in New Orleans, Louisiana. After cutting a profile, he’d save a facsimile for his records. This book shows how diverse his patrons were: Creole citizens, people in fancy hats, children, and military heroes are all included.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Mary Phelps Austin Holley. Auguste Edouart, 1844.
Mary Phelps Austin Holley was an author best known for writing the first English-language history of Texas. She sat for this silhouette in Lexington, Kentucky.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Tea cup and saucer. Annie Dawson, 1872.
This tea cup, given as a set for a Quaker wedding present, illustrates the ups and downs of marriage.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Maibaum. Kristi Malakoff, 2009.
This life-size silhouette scene is based on the annual children’s maypole tradition in the artist’s British Columbia hometown.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Chair. Kumi Yamashita, 2015.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Profile. Kumi Yamashita, 2018.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery
Kinsey Gidick is a freelance writer based in Central Virginia. She previously served as editor in chief of Charleston City Paper in Charleston, South Carolina, and has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, BBC, Atlas Obscura, and Anthony Bourdain’s Explore Parts Unknown, among others. When not writing, she spends her time traveling with her son and husband. Read her work at kinseygidick.com.
