Fair, James Graham (1831-1894)
/Isaiah West Taber’s Portrait Photograph of Senator James Graham Fair
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: Isaiah West Taber (1830-1912). Taber opened his first photography studio in 1854 in Syracuse, New York. In 1864 he moved to California and worked at the Bradley and Rulofson studio at 429 Montgomery Street in San Francisco until 1873. By the end of the decade, Taber was creating portraits at his own studio at 8 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. He continued to produce portraits at his new studio location at 121 Post Street between 1893 and 1906. His studio and all its contents were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Isaiah West Taber: A Photographic Legacy, introduction by Gary F. Kurtz, Windgate Press, Sausalito, California, 2004, Appendix A: Portraits by Taber .
Photographic Studio: Taber Studio, 8 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California.
THE SITTER:
Name: Senator James Graham Fair
Description: This brilliantly composed portrait of the United States Senator, James Graham Fair, was created by the acclaimed San Francisco high-society photographer, Isaiah West Tabor. This is a powerful image of an important, middle-aged man. The viewers’ attention is immediately seized by the bisected composition. In the lighter top half, Fair’s prodigious head fills the arched format leaving little empty space. In the darker, lower half, Fair’s shoulders, clothed in a dark, double-breasted jacket, have been cropped to accentuate their massiveness, implying that they impressively extend significantly beyond the borders of the frame. Although Fair sports the full facial hair of a rough-and-ready male pioneer, his grooming is meticulous. The hair on the side of his face has been cropped short and cleanly trimmed along his cheek bones. His walrus mustache has been styled to reveal his lower lip, and his full, long, goatee beard has been shaped to blend with the tips of his mustache.
Biographical Note:
Family Affiliation:
Bibliography:
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: cabinet card
Medium: gelatin or collodion photographic print mounted on cardstock
Description, front: This head-and-shoulders portrait of Senator James Graham Fair is set within a classic, arched format. Along the bottom of the card is the imprint of the San Francisco photographer, Isaiah West Tabor.
Description, back: According to the owner of this cabinet card, the back side is blank.
Date: The photographer’s imprint on the bottom front edge of this card allows us to assume that this portrait was created between 1883 and 1886.
Condition: The cabinet card is slightly foxed throughout.
Owner: The Collection of Frank Sternad, digital copy by permission.
Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced. These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.