Beau van Erven Dorens unveils historical photograph of one of his ancestors at the Rijksmuseum
Publication date: 27 October 2021 - 10:00
This morning at the Rijksmuseum, television presenter Beau van Erven Dorens unveiled a photograph of one of his family member, Walter van Erven Dorens (1830-1860). This hand-coloured daguerreotype of exceptional quality was taken in San Francisco between 1852 and 1860, making it one of the earliest-known portraits of a Dutch person in the US. The Rijksmuseum bought the photograph at an auction in the US with the support of Baker McKenzie. Subsequent research revealed that the subject is a relative of the well-known TV presenter. The photograph will remain on public display for six weeks.
How wonderful that a piece of family history has turned up at the Rijksmuseum. It’s lovely to see Walter posing in such an assured way. He was only in his early 20s when this photo was taken, and he radiates self-confidence. His adventurous spirit is a typical trait of our family.
Beau van Erven Dorens
Daguerreotype
This photograph of exceptional quality was made using the daguerreotype technique, the earliest form of photography, with the image formed on a silvered copper plate. There is no negative involved in this technique, which means that the subject appears mirrored, and it is not possible to make multiple prints. The person whose portrait was being taken had to stay still for long while. Daguerreotypes are rare because they were expensive to produce, so few people could afford them. This daguerreotype is housed in a leather-bound case with gilt decoration, and the image itself is partially hand-coloured, with red used to embellish the uniform jacket and the cheeks.
Walter van Erven Dorens
It was thanks to the uniform worn by the subject that we were able to identify him: his belt bears the name of his fire department, Sansome, and on his helmet we can see his initials WVED. Archival research has revealed that this is Waltherus Bernardus Alexander Joannes van Erven Dorens, who was born in Amsterdam in 1830. Waltherus, or ‘Walter’, emigrated to the US in 1851 and became an American citizen in 1857. He ran a liquor saloon in San Francisco, where he was also a member of the volunteer fire department.
Walter is shown full length, a rare pose for this period, standing proudly as a member of the volunteer fire department – shortly after much of his adopted home city of San Francisco had been reduced to ashes. Previously, in 1849, when he had been assessed for military service in Amsterdam, a note was made of his having a physical disability. No further details were given but whatever it was it clearly didn’t prevent him from joining the fire department.
Walter died at the age of 30 in India, where it is possible he was working as a stationmaster. Walter, who had no children, was a cousin of Beau van Erven Dorens’ great-great-grandfather.
It is quite exceptional that through this portrait we have been able to trace the life story of an early Dutch immigrant to America. We are generally unable to identify the people in photographs of this period. It’s rare enough to find an early photograph of such good quality, but to then discover such a splendid family story is quite something. I am delighted that we have been able to incorporate this photograph in our collection, so now everyone can enjoy it.
Hans Rooseboom, Rijksmuseum Curator of Photography
The Rijksmuseum photography collection
The Rijksmuseum photography collection comprises some 150,000 images from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, from the Netherlands and abroad. It is the ambition of the museum to represent the entire history of photography with both acknowledged masterpieces by top photographers and applied photography in advertising, fashion, journalism and academia. The Rijksmuseum photography collection has been assembled with the generous support of the museum’s partner Baker McKenzie, private donors and international funds. This now leading international collection includes the work of photographers such as Ed van der Elsken, Anna Atkins, Julia Margaret Cameron, Rineke Dijkstra, Robert Mapplethorpe, Robert Capa and William Klein. Many of the objects in the collection are unique or exceptionally rare vintage copies.
