As flagged earlier this year on BPH the ground-breaking Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, has been commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque at her former London home in Belgravia. The plaque was unveiled on 12 May at 10 Chesham Place which was the first London residence of the woman who would go on to transform the art of photography. Born in Calcutta in 1815, Julia Margaret Cameron arrived in England in 1848, living at Chesham Place as she settled into London life after years in India. Although she did not take up photography until later, while living on the Isle of Wight, this early London home placed her at the heart of the capital’s cultural world and the social and intellectual networks that would come to shape her remarkable career. She died in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in 1879.
Rebecca Preston, Historian at English Heritage, said: “This plaque marks the place in London where Julia Margaret Cameron cultivated the creativity and connections that would later inform her work and provide many of her subjects Though she did not take up photography until her 49th year, Cameron went on to become one of its most original and influential pioneers, redefining what a photographic portrait could be.”
Jules Cameron, DJ, actor and presenter and great-granddaughter of Julia Margaret Cameron, said: “Julia Margaret Cameron saw photography not simply as a record, but as a way of revealing the soul. To have her honoured with a blue plaque feels like a quiet continuation of her work fixing her presence once more in light and memory. She wasn’t interested in perfection, but in truth, in feeling, in humanity. A blue plaque feels entirely fitting for someone so gloriously unconventional, and I think she would have absolutely loved it.”
Cameron is best known for the striking photographs of leading figures in Victorian society including fellow blue plaque recipients Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, Ellen Terry and Marie Spartali Stillman, as well as imaginative allegorical scenes featuring members of her family and household. Rejecting the sharp focus favoured by many contemporaries, she instead embraced soft focus and long exposure to capture what she described as the “inner life” of her subjects.
Though often criticised in her lifetime, Cameron’s work gained recognition from Sir Henry Cole who bought photographs from her for what is now the V&A Museum. She has since secured her reputation as one of the most important figures in the history of photography. The house at Chesham Place, her first London base, marks the beginning of a journey that would lead her to redefine the medium and influence generations of photographers
Other notable photographers commemorated by the scheme include John Thomson, Christina Broom, Lee Miller, Bill Brandt and Cecil Beaton.
The English Heritage London Blue Plaques scheme is generously supported by David Pearl and members of the public.
Images: © Michael Pritchard. (Top): Jules Cameron unveils the plaque at 10 Chesham Place. (right): the blue plaque; (left): collodion photographer Magda Kuca makes a collodion portrait of Jules and Antonia Cameron with Andrew Graham-Dixon looking on; (below): Speakers at the event (l-r) Hannah Starkey, Dr Marta Weiss, Tim Walker, and Andrew Graham-Dixon.
