Gwyn Nicholls, who has died aged 84 years, was a knowledgeable collector and historian of the stereoscope and stereo photography, who assembled a significant world-class collection of viewers and stereo images.

Gwyn was born on 21 May 1939 and after graduating from the Royal College of Art he worked for the Greater London Council until it was closed by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1986. After this he remained with the residual body helping to transfer and dispose of its assets.

Gwyn’s collecting interest began with early photographic postcards, but it was from 1987 that he began to actively collect stereoscopes, stereographs in all their forms: on card, metal and glass, along with associated books and ephemera relating to the subject. His job was increasingly flexible and allowed for travel in London and beyond which provided an opportunity to visit auctions, antique fairs, and general and specialist photographica dealers. Much of this was accomplished by trawling catalogues and auction notices in the Antiques Trade Gazette in a pre-online world.

He quickly built up a detailed knowledge of nineteenth century stereography, not simply as a collector but through a deeper understanding of their history and evolution which he did through looking at patents and other sources, and by researching the photographers and publishers behind the many series of cards and unique stereo-daguerreotypes that he collected.

It was 1987 as a new specialist at Christie’s in South Kensington that I first met Gwyn. He was friendly and approachable and always willing to share his knowledge and insights into new consignments. In return he would have a preview of some of the large lots of stereocards that were offered at that time, where he would diligently look at the back and front of each for anything new, sometimes asking for a photocopy, and often bidding at the subsequent auction.

Gwyn was also a regular attendee at the photograph fairs at the Bonnington and other venues, selling duplicates and checking out other dealers’ stock. His table was never easy to pass quickly, for both its content and for a long chat about the market and new finds. He was there as much for the friendships and social side as for the business side, although he was astute at that, too. He also took an interest in making sure particular stereographs went to the ‘right’ home.

Paul Burford commented: "I spent many hours with Gwyn traveling to view and attend auctions, doing photographic fairs and even flying up to Edinburgh to have a look at the Howarth Loomes collection at the National Museums Scotland as well as spending many hours at his home discussing the various viewers and stereoscopic photographers of the nineteenth century, his knowledge and company will be greatly missed".

Gwyn formed one of the pre-eminent stereo collections with a focus on pre-1880s period, selecting the rare, the interesting and significant, and adding to its breadth, selling duplicates and upgrading. His collection was not simply large and comprehensive, but it was also one of the best in terms of the condition and quality of what was in it. Gwyn’s collection was not hidden away:  he enjoyed showing it to other collectors and those with an interest, to share knowledge and discuss stereo history. Such visits were not brief – there was always so much to see and Gwyn’s enthusiasm and knowledge, took time to share.

Gwyn’s health started to deteriorate around six years ago and he eventually stopped attending fairs and was less able to add to his collection. He remained in contact with many of those collectors and enthusiasts who had become friends.

He died on 12 November 2023. His wife Sylvia predeceased him, and he leaves behind a daughter and son.

With special thanks to Paul Burford and Paula Fleming for their insights and photographs, and Denis Pellerin. 

Dr Michael Pritchard
1 December 2023

Images:

Top:: © Paul Burford, Gwyn with a Hurst and Wood stereoscope and part oif his collection behind collection, 2011.
Middle: © Jenny or Ray Norman, Gwyn Nicholls, with Paula Fleming in the background, 12 March 2008.
Lower: © Denis Pellerin, Gwyn Nicholls 

The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring is the subject of some new work and research by Dick Weindling which he has made freely available. Dick notes:  that Margaret Harker produced the most detailed study in her book The Linked Ring (1979). Using a study of the Link’s records she identified a total of 115 members who are listed in the appendix of the book. I have researched the addresses, and used a variety of other sources to show short biographies of the photographers in the following table, which also gives their dates as Link members.

The work can be seen here: https://historyofcamden.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-linked-ring-of-photographers.html

First large-scale retrospective devoted to the artist in Paris, the exhibition brings together some one hundred photographs, from her early experiments to her historical and literary compositions, as well as her figurative allegories and an impressive gallery of portraits of her contemporaries.

Few 19th century photographers have attracted as much attention as Julia Margaret Cameron. Her approach, highly personal yet strongly criticized at the time, from her photographic technique to her out-of-focus images with various mistakes, emerged as the hallmark of a visionary style, incorporating imperfections and accidents in an innovative fashion. Her timeless and original body of work, created within just over a decade, between 1864 and 1875, represents one of the most beautiful illustrations of the epic energy that characterized the beginnings of photography.

The University of Westminster (a member of the Techne consortium) and the Science Museum Group (SMG) are delighted to announce a call for applicants for a fully funded collaborative doctorial studentship from September 2024, under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme funded by Techne.

This PhD will be the first to focus on the user experience of combining photography and train technologies in Britain between the 1880s-1930s by bringing the photography and transport collections of the SMG’s National Science and Media Museum in Bradford (NSMM) and National Railway Museum (NRM) in York into conversation with one other. 

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to be embedded with the SMG and access the same levels of training, support, and expertise as members of staff, thus developing core heritage skills alongside academic capabilities. The project will be supervised by Dr Sara Dominici (Senior Lecturer in Photography Studies and Visual Culture), Professor Pippa Catterrall (Professor of History and Policy) and Dr Alison Hesse (Lecturer in Museum and Gallery Studies) at Westminster, and, at the SMG, by Dr Oliver Betts (Head of Research) at the NRM in York and Dr Ruth Quinn (Curator of Photography and Photography Technology) at the NSMM in Bradford. 

This inter-museum approach supports the SMG’s ambitious programme to understand and reimagine its collections by allowing for a relatable, human story to be told about how cameras and trains shaped people’s leisure experiences. Its collections-based approach expands the potential for public outputs, and the major redesign work of the NRM’s Vision2025 and of the NSMM’s photography displays offers a great opportunity to research and present these collections’ stories to the public through new displays, talks, and online content.

Context

The PhD will investigate how the interaction of camera technologies and rail travel influenced people’s leisure practices and, consequently, their understanding and use of the British countryside and its heritage between the 1880s and 1930s.

From the early 1880s, a growing number of middle-class photographers used cameras in their leisure time. By the 1900s, cameras had become almost ubiquitous amongst tourists (Dominici 2018), a class whose profile broadened significantly during the interwar years (Walton 2002). Despite the competition from road transport in the 1920s and 1930s, the train remained central to tourists’ experiences.

Fundamentally, the railway did not simply facilitate their movements but, as Schivelbusch (1977) demonstrated, it fostered a sense of detachment from one’s surroundings. Because photography was central to the lives of this growing number of tourists, it follows that camera practices also intersected with how people conceptualised their experiences.

However, while studies of photography and technologies of mobility, including railways, abound (Lyden 2003, Nead 2007, Solnit 2003), they have largely focused on famous photographers’ attempts at capturing movement, or on the visual language triggered by different forms of transport, overlooking the role of popular, yet predominant, photographic practices in shaping transport users’ engagement with their world.

Details: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/studentships/techne-collaborative-doctoral-award-cda-studentship-photography-by-train

Bonhams is offering an important album of photographs of India, Nepal, and British Isles, compiled by Capt. Eugene Clutterbuck Impey and consisting of 94 abumen prints, dating from c1860-65 albumen prints, and with an estimate of £15,000-25,000. The catalogue footnote says: 

PRIZE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION ALBUM, INCLUDING IMAGES OF INDIA BY EUGENE CLUTTERBUCK IMPEY, IMPORTANT EARLY VIEWS OF NEPAL BY CLARENCE C. TAYLOR, AND FINE LANDSCAPES AND STILL-LIFES BY 1860S PHOTOGRAPHERS, many associated with the Amateur Photographic Association. Founded in May 1861, each year members supplied the Association with negatives for printing in exchange for prints from other members. "Prize Albums" such at this belonging to Impey appear to have been awarded to winners in annual competitions, then the contents added by the owner. In this case Impey has included many fine amateur photographers (some based, as himself, in Asia) with fine examples of Indian views by Bourne, Shepherd and other noted professional photographers.

Details here

Recently sold at auction was the Frank Strike Collection of Cornish shipwreck photographs. Described as an important collection of 'Magic Lantern' slides, annotated, catalogued, well preserved and boxed, together with a magic lantern projector made by JH Steward (Optician) of 406, Strand and 457 West Strand London.

Grouped into categories; Shipwrecks: 221 slides, Life saving inventions: 24 slides, Porthleven: 68 slides, Breage: 9 slides, freedom of Helston: 12 slides. Multiple historical images, the majority taken by by the Gibson family of photographers and Alfred Hawke of Helston.

Shipwreck subjects include: Alexander Yeats 1896, Andola 1895, Bay of Panama 1891, early shipwreck diving on the Anson, Cromdale 1913, Cviet 1884, Glenbervie 1902, Jeune Hortense 1888, Lady of the Isles, Lamorna 1904, Marie Celine 1901, Minnehaha 1873, Mohegan 1898, Queen Margaret 1913, Seuvic 1907, Tripolitania, 1912, Barque William 1865 and multiple others.

This exceptional collection was put together by the noteable local historian Frank Strike, and used by him for many years to give illustrated lectures.

Frank Strike was born in 1895 and started out as a shipwright, later becoming a builder and undertaker. In 1929 he joined the coastguard, to which he dedicated forty years of his life. He held the Coastguard long service medal for 35 years as Number One in the Life-saving Team, during which time he was responsible for aiming and firing the rocket that carried the rope to the shipwreck. He started his slide collection in 1947 and went on to combine it with his passion for local history, particularly the history of Porthleven, by giving regular lectures with the slides. He gave lectures as often as once or twice a week.

Frank died in 1967 and his collection has been carefully preserved by his family.

Sold for £15,000 at Lays Auctioneers on 16 November 2023
See the lot description here

We invite international submissions for essays and notes to be included in this forthcoming book to be published by MuseumsEtc in July 2024 in conjunction with a major Edith Tudor-Hart retrospective exhibition in Salzburg.

Both communist and jewish, Austrian photographer Edith Tudor-Hart (née Suschitzky) fled to Britain in 1933. By the time of her death in 1973, her photography had almost disappeared
from view before being featured in the magazine Camerawork in 1980 and more recently in the exhibition and book Edith Tudor-Hart: In the Shadow of Tyranny. Her work is known for its focus on class relations, the “combative” socialist perspective which informed it, and its clarity of vision and composition. As her oeuvre is increasingly researched, reconstructed and reassessed, it has become a source of inspiration for those interested in exploring a realist tradition in photography.

Edith Tudor-Hart in Britain will be the first book to focus in depth on her British work. Drawing on her archive at Fotohof, Salzburg, and other collections throughout Europe, it will feature some 100 largely unpublished images, and will break new ground in examining the physicality of those historic prints which have survived, and in creating historically-informed prints from the surviving negatives.

SUBMISSIONS
Proposals are invited for (longer) Essays and (briefer) Notes from museum, gallery and heritage professionals, academics, photographers and researchers. We aim to prioritise the socialist perspective in Tudor-Hart’s work and to avoid viewing it from a nostalgic perspective. The book will focus entirely on her work as a photographer and not on her undercover work, although intelligence records may be of interest in so far as they illuminate her photographic work.

Essays
Aspects of interest include - but are not limited to - the following:
• Changes in the work over time
• Child education
• Class relations
• Disability
• People at their work
• Photographic work in books, periodicals and advertising
• Political perspectives
• Portraits and self-portraits
• Resistance and action
• Street photography
• The built environment
• The émigré perspective
• The representation of women
• Writings on photography

Notes
The book will feature a number of brief (probably illustrated) “in-focus” contributions. More informal in form where appropriate, these may examine detailed aspects of her work, or individual images. Aspects of interest might include - but are not limited to - the following:
• Captions and titles
• Composition
• Cropping
• Lighting
• Printing - historic and modern
• The analysis of individual images
• The analysis of one or more negatives
All authors will have access to the wide range of images being used in the book, for illustration purposes.

Editor
Shirley Read is a curator, writer and tutor in photography who, while an Editor at Camerawork, published the first-ever overview of Edith Tudor-Hart’s work. She has interviewed for the British Library’s Oral History of British Photography archive for 30 years and is the author of Photographers and Research (Routledge) and Exhibiting Photography (Focal Press). She holds a degree in History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London, and an MA in Photography: History and Culture from the University of the Arts, London.

Submitting your proposal
You can propose either an Essay or a Note. Proposals for ESSAYS should be a maximum of 500 words in length. Proposals for NOTES should be a maximum of 200 words. Both should be accompanied by a biography of 100-300 words. All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format.

ESSAYS will be 2000-3000 words in length; NOTES will be 400-600 words. The inclusion of images is encouraged. Please prepare your proposal with these parameters in mind. The work should not have been published elsewhere. All contributions must be submitted in English - translation services will not be provided. Authors will receive a copy of the final publication and a 10% discount on further copies.

The deadline for proposals is 18 December 2023. Please email your proposal to ETHproposals@museumsetc.com. Any queries in advance of submission should be sent to
ETHqueries@museumsetc.com.

Key dates
PROPOSALS DUE: 18 December 2023
CONTRIBUTORS NOTIFIED: 21 December 2023
COMPLETED PAPERS DUE: 29 February 2024

Download the call ETH CFP.pdf

Photofusion are delighted to announce the appointment of a new Director to lead the UK based photography organisations at an exciting time in its development Jenni Grainger will be the new Director of Photofusion, starting in January 2024.  Joining Photofusion from a background of senior leadership in arts organisations, Jenni brings with her vast experience of leading and programming nationally and internationally significant activity with inclusion, access and creativity at its core.

Jenni says “I am delighted to announce that I will be joining Photofusion, as Director in January 2024, and look forward to driving the strategy and creative ambitions of this long-established photographic institution into 2024 and beyond. Photofusion is an important centre of photographic education and creative vision and I am keen to discover what more we can do to deepen and widen engagement in photography within the local community and far beyond. I also look forward to championing Photofusion as a vibrant and accessible new community space as it moves into its new home on Beehive Place, Brixton. I particularly look forward to continuing Photofusion’s strong relationships, locally and beyond, with stakeholders, artists, partners and its members, to champion the delivery of high-quality exhibitions and socially engaged projects."

Kim Shaw has recently stepped down as Director of Photofusion after 8 years. During that time, she steered the organisation through a period of huge change, achieving Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status in collaboration with 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, and winning the bid for Photofusion’s new home on Beehive Place. Her vision and determination have been incredible, and we are going to miss her enthusiasm and on-going support of Photofusion members in particular.

For 30 years, Photofusion has championed, supported and celebrated photography and photographers. well known for the darkrooms, gallery space, digital printing facilities, and education programme, Photofusion has also worked collaboratively with young people, emerging photographers and makers as part of its growing community. Photofusion was established in 1990. Among the founding members were a group of female photographers who were concerned about the way women were portrayed in the media. They formed a cooperative to document real women doing real things: doctors, nurses, teachers, mothers. Representation, inclusion and diversity have always been at the heart of Photofusion. Many important images have been made and shown at Photofusion. Supporting some of the UKs most well-known and established photographers at early stages of their careers, Photofusion looks forward to doing more to develop the artform and ensure its accessibility for everyone.

See: https://www.photofusion.org/

The landmark Africa Fashion exhibition at the V&A highlights opportunities for original research into interconnections between African dress, adornment, colonialism, decolonisation and diaspora. Subjects embodied in African portrait photography located in national museum, private and family archives. The project will analyse; sitter, attire, styling, and setting as a conduit into understanding an archive of pictures social, cultural and political meanings. The scope of this approach is explicit in the oeuvre of photographers Seydou Keita – Bamako and James Barnor – Accra/London. 

The project may create, identify an original, or re-evaluate an existing African portrait photography archive; either in Africa or elsewhere. The analysis will seek to understand the collections agency in colonial, decolonising or diaspora contexts. A paradigm shift in the conceptualisation, articulation, interpretation and classification of African portrait photography is expected to elucidate race, discrimination, freedom struggles and gender narratives.  

Theoretical and methodological approaches will draw on a combination of subject disciplines which may include African studies; visual research methods from anthropology, photography, fashion and dress; theoretical perspectives from colonial, decolonisation research studies; taxonomy and ontology. Research as creative practice will be intrinsic leading to exhibition and publication expectations. 

Falmouth University
Project lead: Dr Simon A Clarke
No start or closing date specified
Details: https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/research/phd-mphil/doctoral-project-briefs/african-portrait-photography-archives#details

Various news outlets reported recently that Brian Edwards, a visiting research fellow with the regional history centre at the University of the West of England had identified the image of a Wiltshire thatcher, as seen on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV.

Edwards said he came across the image in a photograph album during continuing research extending from an exhibition he curated with Wiltshire Museum in 2021. It is understood that the Led Zeppelin lead singer, Robert Plant, discovered a framed, coloured photograph of the original image of the Wiltshire thatcher in an antique shop near guitarist Jimmy Page’s house in Pangbourne, Berkshire.

The original image was discovered in a Victorian photograph album titled: “Reminiscences of a visit to Shaftesbury. Whitsuntide 1892. A present to Auntie from Ernest.” It contained more than 100 architectural views and street scenes together with a few portraits of rural workers from Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset.

Beneath the stooped man’s image, the photographer wrote: “A Wiltshire thatcher.” Further research suggests the thatcher is Lot Long (sometimes Longyear), who was born in Mere in 1823 and died in 1893. At the time the photograph was taken, Long was a widower living in a small cottage in Shaftesbury Road, Mere. A part-signature matching the writing in the album suggests the photographer is Ernest Howard Farmer (1856-1944), the first head of the school of photography at the then newly renamed Regent Street Polytechnic, now part of the University of Westminster.

Farmer’s photograph is now in Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, and an exhibition featuring the image, along with others taken in the west of England during the Victorian era, is scheduled to be held at the museum in spring 2024.

See:https://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?exhibition=wiltshire-thatcher-a-photographic-journey-through-victorian-wessex

https://www.uwe.ac.uk/news/unidentified-figure-on-cover-of-iconic-album-revealed

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-have-finally-identified-the-mystery-man-on-a-led-zeppelin-album-cover-180983225/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/08/led-zeppelin-iv-cover-photo-revealed-victorian-wiltshire-thatcher and

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-67336495

The next few weeks see several auctions of photography and cameras: 

• Chiswick Auctions - 9th & 20th Century Photographs - 30 November 2023. Chiswick has an evening preview on 28 November from 1800-2000. RSVP to: photographica@chiswickauctions.co.uk. Catalogue here
• Dominic WInter Auctions - Photographs, Autographs & Historic Documents - 22 November 2023. Catalogue here
• Flints Auctions - Fine Photographica - 21 November 2023. Catalogue here

Four Corners latest exhibition tells the fascinating story of the Half Moon touring shows. In 1976, photographers at East London’s Half Moon Gallery developed an innovative approach to exhibiting. With little money, a leaky roof and a DIY attitude, they arranged their work on card panels and ran them through a laminator, creating unpretentious exhibitions-in-a-box that travelled the country via British Rail.

Bypassing elitist arts institutions, the exhibitions toured to alternative venues from community centres to left-wing bookshops, student unions, churches, a prison and even a laundrette. By 1984, over fifty shows had reached people across the UK, playing a pivotal role in how documentary photography was viewed and used. 

Documenting working lives and rural traditions, shedding light on international conflicts and injustices closer to home, the Half Moon touring shows introduced powerful imagery by an emerging generation of socially engaged photographers that still resonates today. 

Photography on the Move: The Half Moon Touring Shows 1976 - 1984
24 November 2023 - 27 January 2024
London: Four Corners
https://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk/whats-on/photography-on-the-move-the-half-moon-touring-shows-1976-1984

Exeter-based auctioneers Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood is offering the lantern slides, lanterns and associated material collected and used by Philip Banham over many years. The auction takes place on 4 December 2023. The sale is particualrly strong in hand-coloured and transfer lantern slides, slipping and mechanical slides, with subjects ranging from comic to social history. Also included are lanterns, printed material, engravings, books and readings. 

Online catalogue: https://auctions.bhandl.co.uk/auctions/8741/bearne10139

Manuscripts and Archives at Oxford University is a new tool which searches descriptions of manuscripts and archives held at the Bodleian Libraries and some Oxford colleges. These descriptions are drawn from eleven online catalogues. The manuscript and archive holdings of the Bodleian extend from Greek papyrus fragments from the 5th century BC to 21st century born-digital archives.

The manuscript and archive collections include works of literature, politics, science, medicine, theology, law, music and religious devotion, as well as many forms of documentary material produced by individuals and institutions. The extensive archives held at the Bodleian include manuscripts, documents, audio-visual recordings, photographic material, music and born-digital content from thousands of personal and institutional archives. 

A quick check with several photographic-related search terms reveals a wealth of material. 

See: https://marco.ox.ac.uk/

It is hard to overestimate the extent to which the advent of photography in the early nineteenth century changed the course of visual culture in France and abroad. New photographic inventions, such as Louis Daguerre’s ‘diorama’ (a popular Parisian spectacle featuring theatrical painting and lighting effects) introduced novel visual mechanisms to a wide audience. Though denigrated by critics like Charles Baudelaire for its presumed limitation to merely reproduce the visible world, photography was in fact in dialogue with other means of visual expression.Artists such as Eugène Delacroix and Paul Cezanne were indebted to the medium for the development of many of their paintings; Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic studies of bodies in motion allowed artists such as Edgar Degas to reconsider the artist’s capacity to depict movement. While linked to aesthetic and scientific advancement, however, photography was equally a vital tool for French colonial endeavours, reinforcing propagandistic messages,justifying missionary activities, and lending seemingly objective evidence to the pseudoscientific project of eugenics and related endeavours of white supremacy. The tool of photography was put to many uses, unified by its promise of technological progress.

In this session we hear from researchers who are working in diverse aspects of French visual culture and photography. We are pleased to welcome the following speakers:

• Isabelle Lynch (University of Pennsylvania) - "'World Without Sun': The Diving Bell, The Camera, and the Rapture of the Deep."
• Édouard de Saint-Ours (University of St Andrews) - “Capturing the French imperial imagination: Émile Gsell’s photographs at the edge of colonial desires in Indochina, 1865–79”
• Joshua Teasdale (University of Oxford) - “Capturing Subjectivity in Late Nineteenth-Century Photographic Catalogues”
• Joshua Teasdale is a research student at the University of Oxford’s Department of History of Art, and a member of Wadham College

Details and free registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transformation-and-trouble-photography-as-a-tool-in-19th-century-france-tickets-726768523217?aff=oddtdtcreator

Stills presents a six week lecture and discussion event in the gallery for students and those keen to develop an understanding of the philosophies and ideas which are most often used to think with, and about, photography.

Have you ever wondered what Post-Modernity really means? And if it has anything at all to do with taking photos?! This course, led by our Research Associate David Grinly, will help you to navigate the terminologies and ideas which sometimes put us off thinking more deeply about photography. Aiming at the big names who stand (sometimes very closely) behind the theories of today, this course will offer approachable “translations” of a selection of critical texts, and provide a space to discuss the questions they raise, now.

Course outline:
1 Nov: Introduction – Photographic Modernity and PostModernity
8 Nov: Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
15 Nov: Roland Barthes – Rhetoric and Mourning
22 Nov: Susan Sontag – In Plato’s Cave
29 Nov: Jean Baudrillard – Photographer in the Matrix
6 Dec: Teju Cole and Lucy Sante – The Spectators Malevolent Neutrality

A ticket - from £18 upwards - provides access to all 6 lectures. If you would like to attend individual events but not the whole series, please email info@stills.org and we can make arrangements for this.

Details and booking: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/photographic-monsters-tickets-743390189067

The curator, academic and writer David Mellor (he added 'Alan' to avoid confusion with the politician of the same name) has died aged 75 years at his home in  Machynlleth, Wales. He was awarded the Royal Photographic Society's J Dudley Johnston (2005) and Education (2015) awards.

Mellor studied art at Sussex University from 1967 under Quentin Bell. During this time Asa Briggs, then Vice-Chancellor of the University, received the archive of Mass-Observation from Tom Harrisson. Mellor published and curated exhibitions about the substantial collection of pre-war photographs of working-class life contained in the archive. He stayed at Sussex until his retirement in 2018. In the words of Maurice Howard he was one of the country’s leading scholars in the fields of twentieth century painting, film and photography.' Mellor had an extensive list of publications to his name and curated significant exhibitions on Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, and on Robin Denny, Cecil Beaton and Bill Brandt. He curated major exhibitions at the Barbican and Tate, most memorably Paradise Lost: The New Romantic Imagination in Britain (1987) and The Sixties (1993), at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. 

Mellor was also a director of Brighton's Photoworks and the Brighton Photo Biennial, and Edinburgh's cooperative Photography Workshop from 1996 to 2011. 

As Howard notes 'As a teacher, generations of students testify to his unique insights into British culture. David was teaching the inter-relations of media long before the subject became an academic discipline at the University and was sensitive to art and the environment from the beginning of his career'.

With thanks to Paul Hill (seen on the right, in the picture left) who notes: 'So sad to get the news of the the death of photo historian and teacher. David Mellor (left). We worked together quite a few times - up here in Derbyshire at The Photographers Place workshop in the 70s, Salford ‘80, and latterly talking about The Real Britain project at the 2014 Brighton Biennial. Great scholar and lovely guy….'

See:

• https://staff.sussex.ac.uk/news/article/62223-obituary-professor-david-alan-mellor
• https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/mar/01/academicexperts.highereducationprofile
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Alan_Mellor

The latest issue of The Classic has been published to coincide with Paris Photo. As usual it includes a range of features and news, including previews of Paris Photo, a feature on the George Hoyningen-Huene Estate archives, photography of French cinema, an interview with Hans P Kraus and Behind the Scenes - Curating and Designing Exhibitions. It is available to donwload for free or printed copies can be picked up at various venues. 

See: https://theclassicphotomag.com/

A new photography creative hub is set to open in Edinburgh, just a stone’s throw from Princes Street. 6 William Street will unite renowned charity Studies in Photography and new artist-run gallery and bookshop AGITATE under one roof. The new venture will provide a go-to hotspot for lens-based artists and photo-curious passers-by, offering an expansive programme of events, exhibitions, and workshops.

The new venue will open officially on Saturday 28 October with a launch event for its first show forty one point five - a celebratory melting pot of contributors’ work from 40 years of Studies in Photography and the first 1.5 years of AGITATE. The launch night will also feature exclusive discounts on a variety of photo wares including a limited run of new AGITATE merchandise and an exciting opportunity to snap up back-issues of the journal from as far back as 1987.

Alexander Hamilton, Chair of Studies in Photography said: “The Scottish Society for History of Photography is opening in its 40th Year a new home for Scottish and International Photography in the heart of Edinburgh. The Society, known as Studies in Photography is delighted to be going into partnership with Agitate over 6 William Street - a home for photography. Finally, after a long history of events, journals, and creative conversations, we are opening a new centre for events and exhibitions, and to house our archive. It will also be a place to find copies of our books and our amazing journal, which features the very best in historical and contemporary photography. In partnership with Agitate, we aim to create Scotland’s premier photographic bookshop. I am particularly grateful to all our sponsors and supporters, who through their generous financial support, our making this dream possible. I look forward to welcoming you all to 6 William Street.”

With more and more creatives using cameras (and cameras increasingly being in everybody’s pockets), plus thousands of photography graduates come out of colleges and universities each year, the demand for image-making and image consumption has never been higher. Yet it can be difficult to feel inspired, to play with pictures, and to find a space to think more critically about the images we are taking. AGITATE’s mission since opening in early 2022 is to make it easier for anyone excited about making pictures to share them, find community, and to provide a viable platform for artists to make income from their work.

Christina Webber, Director of AGITATE said: “We are over the moon to be working with Studies in Photography on this exciting new venture and very grateful for the opportunity. Our mission with AGITATE is to make it easier for fans of photography at any level to buy, sell, show, and discover work, and to provide a welcoming platform for everyone to participate in conversations around image-making. You don’t have to be a ‘full time artist’ - if there even is such a thing - simply someone with a curiosity for pictures. We look at hundreds of images every day, and it’s my sincere hope that 6 William Street will provide a bridge between making images and sharing them, starting a wider conversation about our relationship with the images we consume. With Studies in Photography’s 40-year history and expertise, alongside our ambition and incredible community, we’re excited to see this become a catalyst for conversation and discovery.”

The photography industry is ever-changing. 6 William Street will bridge the old and the new, creating space for learning from a diversity of approaches, techniques, perspectives and interpretations. Alongside book launches, pin-ups, artist talks, reading groups and film clubs, a dynamic programme of workshops (both in-person and online) will complement partnership working with local higher education organisations, whilst the gallery will provide a space for exhibition hire, curated shows, and all manner of other events. Whether you’re a darkroom fanatic, a digital die-hard, an alt-process nerd, or love taking photos on your phone… this is definitely somewhere to check out.

More details about the exhibition, events, education and publishing programmes will be announced at the launch. Join the Studies in Photography and AGITATE mailing lists, and follow both organisations on social media to stay in the loop!

6 William Street will open to the public officially on Saturday 28 October from 1800. Over the winter months, the gallery and bookshop will then be open weekly from Tuesday –
Sunday from 12:00 – 18:00 at 6 William Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7NH.

www.studiesinphotography.com

AGITATE is a new hub for photography in Edinburgh (est. 2022) celebrating pictures in all their forms and supporting those who make them. AGITATE is artist-run and driven by community, with a desire to change the landscape of photography in Scotland by making it easier for lens-based artists to show and sell their work. The shop stocks a range of photo wares including books, zines, prints and film; acts as a drop-off point for local enterprise Rocket Film Lab, hosts a regular programme of events, and provides affordable exhibition and event hire for image-makers at all levels. AGITATE is operated by Filtr Collective, a limited company run by Christina Webber and Jaime Molina.

www.agitate.gallery

Lower image credit: Laura Prieto

National Galleries of Scotland has announced the appointment of Anne Lyden as its new Director-General. Bringing a wealth of experience, most recently as Interim Co-Director of Collection and Research, Lyden will be the first female Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland in its history. Current Director-General, Sir John Leighton, will step down on 31 December 2023 following a 17-year tenure and Lyden will take up the role on 1 January 2024. BPH reported on Lyden's appointment as Photography Curator  back in 2013

The National Galleries of Scotland is home to Scotland’s superb art collection, with three galleries in Edinburgh. At the National, Modern and Portrait galleries visitors can discover treasures from Botticelli to Titian, the very best modern art, famous faces and contemporary portraits of pop culture icons, and the largest collection of Scottish art in the world. As well as conserving and researching the national collection, the National Galleries of Scotland is committed to reaching the widest possible audience through an active programme, including partnerships across Scotland, the UK and abroad, as well as online.  As Director-General, Lyden will work with the National Galleries of Scotland Board of Trustees, Leadership Team, colleagues across the organisation, and a great many donors and stakeholders to make art work for everyone.

Born in West Dunbartonshire, Anne Lyden grew up in Clydebank and studied History of Art at the University of Glasgow, and Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. She held various curatorial positions at the J.Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where she worked for 18 years (1995-2013) latterly in the role of Associate Curator before joining the National Galleries of Scotland. As International Photography Curator (2013-2019) and then Chief Curator, Photography (2019-2022), Lyden curated numerous exhibitions including Coming Clean: Graham Macindoe (2017), A Perfect Chemistry: Photographs by Hill & Adamson (2017), and ARTIST ROOMS—Self Evidence: Photographs by Woodman, Arbus and Mapplethorpe (2019). In 2022, she became Interim Co-Director of Collection and Research where she led a directorate, overseeing the public programme across three sites and building on several research initiatives to widen accessibility and representation within the collection. Author of numerous publications, Lyden has written widely on the subject of photography and art.

The process of recruiting the new Director-General began earlier this year and was led by the Chair of the National Galleries of Scotland Board of Trustees, Benny Higgins, and a committee of Trustees.

Benny Higgins, Chair of National Galleries of Scotland Board of Trustees, said: “I am thrilled that we have appointed Anne Lyden as our new Director-General. Anne brings a strong understanding of the national collection and our talented people, together with extensive international experience.  

Over the past few months, we embarked on a rigorous search to find our next Director-General, resulting in us speaking to many people across the UK and internationally. Following a thorough recruitment process, we know we have the right person to lead the National Galleries of Scotland into the future.  

Anne’s strong personal values and leadership style, coupled with her knowledge of art, will see us deliver on our strategic commitments and I am looking forward to working with her.”

Anne Lyden, Director-General designate of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “I am looking forward to this incredible opportunity to lead the National Galleries of Scotland in the next chapter of its impressive history.

It is my great privilege to continue the excellent work led by Sir John and colleagues over the years, most recently the success of the new Scottish galleries at the National. I am eager to continue my work with Trustees, colleagues, community partners, audiences, artists, and supporters in realising our plans for the future including The Art Works, our new collections facility in North Edinburgh. Having worked with the national collection and a wide range of colleagues over the last ten years, I am delighted to continue this experience of making art accessible to everyone.”

Sir John Leighton, outgoing Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Anne Lyden is a highly talented curator and leader with a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity. She has a compelling vision of the benefits that access to great art can achieve in these volatile times and is the right person to drive forward the National Galleries’ commitment to bringing world-class art to the widest possible audience.”