19thcenturyphotography

Same boys as this one:

They standing boy really looks like his father.

Enlarge the 'father' using the Persistent URL and compare to this: www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/McCubbin_students2.htm . You will need a magnifying glass! And also this self-portrait (c. 1913, about seventeen years later than this shot): www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/pub/itemDetail?artworkID=52880 . Under a magnifying glass, there is a similar rash over the left eyebrow, and a mole in front of the left ear. Is this Frederick McCubbin and family in about 1895, possibly in Melbourne?

Assuming it is the McCubbin family in about 1895, that is his wife Annie (married in 1889). Eldest boy is Louis Frederick (b.1890), younger boy on his father's lap is Alexander (b.1893), the baby is Hugh Montgomery (b.1894). A daughter Mary (b.1891) had recently died in a tragic accident (in1894). Is this why they look so sad? They had three more children. Quick McCubbin biography here: www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/McCubbin_biography.htm The wife, Annie was the model in several of his most famous paintings, "On the Wallaby Track" (1896), and "The Pioneer" (1904): www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/McCubbin_wallaby.htm and www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/pub/itemDetail?artworkID=52858 If this is true, it is mind-blowing!

There is another picture taken a few seconds later (or earlier?). The other picture has been retouched to remove frowns, bags under the eyes, etc., so that the family looks relatively happy. Interesting to compare all the faces using the Persistent URL magnifier. www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=386437&...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Amasa_Walker

I think this may be one of the hatchery rooms in the U.S. Fish Commission Building at Sixth St. and Independence Ave., SW (razed 1964).