Julia Margaret Cameron, Victorian Photographer
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| Julia Margaret Cameron |
Julia Margaret Cameron was an English eccentric who notably photographed many of the top British writers and artists of her time. She was very controversial among photographers, because she paid little attention to things like lighting and focus. Today she's known for her portraits, which are often dark and moody, but in her time more of the attention was on her tableaux photos, such as the illustrations of King Arthur she did for Tennyson's Idylls of the King. This was in the days when many people thought photography wasn't 'art' unless it imitated painting.
Now her portraits are much more appreciated. She had the good fortune to be a neighbor and friend to Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and thereby gained access to important members of British society. Her subjects included Charles Darwin, Robert Browning and Alice Liddell (of "in Wonderland" fame). Personally, I still like the tableaux!
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| King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther. (Henry Taylor, Mary Ryan and Mary Kellaway) |
Her photography "career" began when her daughter gave her a camera as a present. She was already 48 years old. All of her notable work was done between that time, 1863 and 1875, when she moved to Sri Lanka. She made only a few photos in Sri Lanka and died there in 1879.
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| Alfred, Lord Tennyson (June 3, 1869) by Julia Margaret Cameron |
I learned most of this from a very good book I recently read, Julia Margaret Cameron: Her Life and Photographic Work.
Here's a Google search to see more photos by Julia Margaret Cameron.
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