London's V&A Museum has acquired a self-portrait of Maria ‘Mia’ Jackson (1818-1892), née Pattle; 1818–92), one of six sisters of Julia Margaret Cameron. It was purchased from descendants of Julia along with a second ambrotype of a South Asian women. The collodion positive on glass, or ambrotype, is dated to c.1858 and offers the tantalising suggestion that photography amongst the Pattle sisters was not confined only to Julia. As V&A curator Marta Weiss notes the self-portrait 'also invites broader reconsideration of artistic exchange within an exceptionally creative family.' The portrait places the camera centre stage with Mia off to one side, with a male figure next to the camera. All are reflected in an arch-topped dressing table mirror.
The purchase of Mia's portrait, along with that of the South Asian woman, was funded by the V&A Americas Foundation through the generosity of Michael G. and C. Jane Wilson.
The portrait and its wider significance is discussed in an article by V&A curator Marta Weiss in the current issue of the Burlington Magazine.
Read more here: Marta Weiss, 'Through the looking glass: a self-portrait by Mia Jackson, Julia Margaret Cameron’s sister', The Burlington Magazine, October 2026, Vol. 168 / No. 1483. Available to read open access.
The photograph is recorded on the V&A's online collection here: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1810666/self-portrait-by-maria-mia-photograph-maria-jackson/ and the South Asian woman here
Image: Self-portrait, by Mia Jackson. c.1858. Collodion positive on glass, 9.4 by 7.9 cm. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
