In 1840, just a year after Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre debuted his daguerreotype process to the French Académie des Sciences, Gurney opened a photographic portrait studio at 189 Broadway in New York City. He built such a successful practice that 12 years later, after a small fire damaged the property, he moved to 349 Broadway where he could devote nine rooms extending over three floors to his business.

Gurney was considered one of the best technical photographers of his day, renowned for his finely detailed and delicately toned images. He catered to New York’s elite, who could afford the price of a full-plate daguerreotype with hand tinting, like this one. The blush of pink on the bonnets, hats, faces, and woman’s dress, as well as the gentle blue of the girl’s dress, are subtly and expertly applied. These additions were meant to enliven the image, although there is not much more Gurney could do here given the postures and facial expressions of his sitters.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023)