Sixth plate daguerreotype showing an unusually candid studio portrait of Marion Hawes, captured mid-moment as she appears to fall asleep while seated between two classical studio columns. Her head tilts gently, eyes closed, with her body leaning into the architectural props rather than posed rigidly, producing an image that departs strikingly from standard daguerreian formality. The relaxed posture and unfixed expression suggest an impromptu exposure rather than a rehearsed sitting.

The photograph is almost certainly by Josiah Johnson Hawes, of the renowned Boston partnership Southworth and Hawes. The presence of the distinctive paired studio columns, combined with the informal psychological immediacy of the image, aligns closely with Hawes’s known experimental and observational approach to portraiture. This daguerreotype was formerly part of the Feigenbaum Collection and was sold at Sotheby’s, providing firm provenance within one of the most important private collections of early American photography.

The image is housed in a period hinged case with a gilt brass mat and velvet lining. The case exterior shows expected wear from age and handling, consistent with mid-19th-century use. No photographer’s imprint is present. The daguerreotype plate exhibits minor surface marks and tonal wear consistent with age, but the subject remains clearly legible. A rare and intimate example of early photographic portraiture that prioritizes observation over convention.