The majority of portraits gathered here come from an album with 176 cartes de visite photographs of various American, British, and European artists active during the second half of the 19th century, assembled by an unidentified previous owner. The photographs originate from a number of different photography studios, including Matthew Brady, Nadar, and others. Also included in this collection are 75 etchings by James Girtin after original portraits of celebrated European painters such as Michelangelo, Holbein, and Poussin.

Both the cartes de visite and etchings are housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library.