Francis Wayland Sherman at the Age of 2 Years 10 Months

About the Artwork

An inscription on the back of this photograph records the sitter’s identity and age. Because he belonged to a prominent family, it was possible to learn through research that he grew up in Ludlow, Vermont, the son of a successful businessman with pharmaceutical and music enterprises that he later managed. The rocking horse, a favorite toy of Victorian nurseries, may have belonged to the wealthy child or have been a prop in the photographer’s studio. This is an especially luxurious example. Dappled gray rocking horses were the most popular in that era, having been favored by Queen Victoria for her children’s nursery.

Inscriptions

written in brown ink on verso: "Francis Wayland Sherman/ Taken at the age of 2 yrs + 10 mos."

Exhibition history

Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro Collection of American Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 26-September 10, 2003). Cheating Death: Portrait Photography’s First Half Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 22, 2016-February 5, 2017).

Quick Overview

Artist: H.N. Roberts (American, active 1860s)
Date: 1862
Medium: albumen print from wet collodion negative
Dimensions: Image: 18.6 x 13.3 cm (7 5/16 x 5 1/4 in.); Mounted: 25.1 x 19.9 cm (9 7/8 x 7 13/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Type: Photograph
Classification: Photograph
Department: Photography
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 2002.34

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s open-access data does not include an ownership history for this work. See the museum’s page for this work.

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.