In a blog report earlier this year BPH noted that the National Media Museum was looking to save a rare photograph by pioneering 19th century British photographer, Roger Fenton, entitled 'Pasha and Bayader'. Today it has been confirmed that the photograph has been saved, and it is no longer in danger being moved abroad.
The Art Fund and the National Media Museum has managed to jointly raise over £100,000, and the image will now be on display in the National Collection of Photographs.
Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, said: "This captivating tableau is of huge importance to the display and study of photography. The intriguing interplay between the characters and Fenton's visual trickery are sure to fascinate viewers, helping bring a wider understanding of 19th century art and culture."
The Art Fund noted (see here): Fenton created Pasha and Bayadere in 1858 as part of a series of photographs inspired by his recent expedition to photograph the Crimean War. It is an important and beautiful expression of an orientalist theme in British art of the nineteenth century and reflects the Victorian fascination with the ‘exotic’ east. Fenton himself appears as the ‘Pasha’ and the musician is the English landscape painter, Frank Dillon, who originally owned the print.
- Medium: albumen silver print
- Dimensions: 42 x 38cm
- Grant Paid: £49,000.00 ( Total: £108,506.00; Export stopped)
- ArtFunded in: 2010
- Vendor: Descendants of Frank Dillon
Only two examples of this image exist - the other is in the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and is believed to be a proof.
The full report fromt the Daily Telegraph can be found here.
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