Information and discussion on all aspects of British photographic history

Camille Silvy, Photographer of Modern Life, 1834 - 1910

Event Details

Time: July 15, 2010 to October 24, 2010
Location: Porter Gallery, National Portrait Gallery
Street: St Martin's Place
City/Town: London WC2H 0HE
Website or Map: http://www.npg.org.uk
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7306 0055
Event Type: exhibition
Organized By: Jeu de Paume, Paris, in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, London
Latest Activity: Sep 5, 2010

Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)

Event Description

Camille Silvy was a pioneer of early photography and one of the greatest French photographers of the nineteenth century. This exhibition includes many remarkable images which have not been exhibited since the 1860s.

Over 100 works, including a large number of carte de visites, focus on a ten-year creative burst from 1857-67 working in Algiers, rural France, Paris and London and illustrate how Silvy pioneered many now familiar branches of the medium including theatre, fashion and street photography.

Working under the patronage of Queen Victoria, Silvy photographed royalty, aristocrats and celebrities. He also portrayed uncelebrated people, the professional classes and country gentry, their wives, children and servants.

The results offer a unique glimpse into nineteenth-century society through the eyes of one of photography's outstanding innovators.

Photo: James Pinson Labulo and Sarah Forbes, 1862 ; NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY