Blogs

The photographic portrait has been among the most practiced forms of art since the emergence of photography in the mid-19th century. It quickly rose to prominence artistically, socially, and even economically, becoming a sought-after art form among aristocrats and ruling classes in Europe and America. Portrait photography replaced traditional painted portraits, creating official or artistic representations of individuals.

Portrait photography involves various visual elements, ranging from bust portraits showing the upper chest and face to close-ups focusing solely on the face. Some compositions are broader, including the entire body, seated or standing, in ways that reflect the subject's personal, cultural, professional, or symbolic identity. These portraits can be created in studios or outdoor settings.

In 1880, Irish photographer James Lauder, professionally known as James Lafayette, gained fame as a pioneer of indoor portrait photography in Dublin and London, and arguably across Europe. After training in Paris, the birthplace of photography in the 1820s, Lauder founded "Lafayette Studio" in Dublin, adopting a French name to emphasize his artistic lineage. His work gained significant recognition, leading Duchess Sophia Murphy of Devonshire House in London's upscale Piccadilly area to invite him to photograph her historical costume ball in 1897. This type of commission was previously reserved for painters. Lauder's reputation further grew as he photographed prominent British royal figures, including Queen Victoria, earning the titles "Victorian" and "Edwardian" photographer, titles previously exclusive to painters.

The Duchess prescribed specific Eastern and Western costumes for her guests, inspired by characters such as Cleopatra, Zenobia (Queen of Palmyra), Bilqis (Queen of Sheba), Desdemona, Cassio, Sir Galahad, Romeo and Juliet, knights of the Round Table, and mythical Greek and Roman figures. Lauder meticulously transported studio elements, including custom-painted backdrops, lighting equipment, and development materials, to the venue. He paid extraordinary attention to detail, even developing glass negatives on-site to ensure the best results, allowing him to adjust poses and angles as needed.

Lauder’s innovation extended to custom-designed backdrops, tailored to complement the historical costumes of his subjects, setting a precedent for portrait photography studios. His work earned multiple patents for photographic techniques, influencing subsequent generations of photographers. His approach, combining patience, technical precision, and artistic vision, positioned photography as a viable competitor to traditional portrait painting.

"Lafayette Studio" operated in Dublin from 1880, later expanding to Glasgow, Manchester, and London. However, following Lauder's death in 1923, the studio's prominence declined, with its branches closing within a few years. By 1952, the main studio in Dublin was sold, and thousands of original glass negatives, including 200 from the Devonshire House ball, were reportedly lost or destroyed.

Remarkably, in 1986, the glass negatives from the Devonshire House ball were discovered in a dusty cardboard box behind a screen in a storage loft at Pinewood Studios in London. These negatives were among thousands of Lauder’s works depicting historical events, social occasions, and prominent figures, including Queen Victoria. Their rediscovery was a momentous event for historians, academics, and art institutions worldwide, shedding light on Lauder's groundbreaking contributions to early portrait photography.

Lauder’s work, preserved in institutions like the National Portrait Gallery in London, exemplifies the artistry and technical mastery of his era. His portraits provide valuable lessons in understanding light sources, composition, and the interplay between subject and background. Lauder’s innovative use of hand-painted backdrops and single, soft lighting techniques gave his photographs depth and realism, distinguishing them as a pivotal moment in the history of studio photography.

This body of work remains a testament to Lauder’s ingenuity, showcasing the transformation of portrait photography into an art form that rivaled painted portraits, which had dominated for centuries. His legacy as a pioneer of European studio photography endures, celebrated for elevating the genre to unparalleled artistic heights.

His Photos at "Devonshire House" Disappeared for 71 Years Before Their Discovery… Personality and Space in the Portraits of Irish Photographer James Lauder

By Mohammad Hannon / originaly written in Arabic and published in Arabic newspapers.

Palestinian-Jordanian Photographer / Budapest

Translated by ChatGPT

Photographic historian Dr Rose Teanby FRPS, discusses the binding and photographic significance of the Linnean Society's three precious Anna Atkins Cyanotype volumes. The blog post also coincides with the Linnean Society's three Atkins volumes being on display at their home in Burlington House, London

Read the blog post here: https://www.linnean.org/news/2024/12/05/a-secret-treasure-anna-atkinss-photographs-of-british-algae

See exhibition details for that with the Anna Atkins volumes on display here: https://www.linnean.org/research-collections/on-display

The National Archives (TNA) holds a collection over 400,000 individual forms deposited to the Stationers’ Company between 1842 and 1912 to register ownership and copyright of photographs, paintings and drawings.

The forms include a description of the work being registered, along with the name and place of abode of the copyright owner (or proprietor of copyright) and the name and place of abode of the copyright author (the artist or photographer). The forms were then dated and signed by the owner and in many cases a copy of the work (in the form or a print or sketch) was attached to the form.

The entire photography collection has been catalogued at item level and we have access to the full metadata. This however is only semi-structured and it requires complex data manipulation to be effectively used for digital research, let alone visualisations.

As part of an internal project running from October 2024 to February 2025, we have decided to use this metadata to organise a hybrid digital hackathon to test data cleaning and processing methodologies, to experiment with visualizations and interesting forms of storytelling related to the world of early photography, as well as to find out the benefits and constraints of running a hybrid collaborative hackathon.

By experimenting collaboratively with tools such as AI, network analysis, entity disambiguation, and visualization we want to bring new perspectives to exploring archival collections through metadata.

During the hackathon we will encourage collaboration between teams, each working on different parts of the problem but sharing data, tools and ideas. To read more about the metadata collection and what we plan to do during the events, visit: https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/exploring-early-photography-through-collaborative-digital-experimentation/

The hackathon will take place over two days, on 27-28 January 2025 both onsite and online.

Exploring early photography through collaborative digital experimentation
London, The National Archives and and online
27-28 January 2025
Details: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/collaborative-digital-experimentation-copyright-and-early-photography-tickets-1105454266469

John Thomson is one of the great figures in the history of photography, an extraordinary photographer, traveller, author, translator and teacher. Between 1868 and 1872 he spent four years in China and it is his photography from that period that is the subject of this illustrated talk. He travelled from Macao in the South to the Great Wall of China in the North. Recording the North River, the Min and the Yangtze and the people who lived and worked on them.

Thanks to the work of photographic conservators at the Wellcome Collection it is possible to revisit Thomson’s original negatives and see the China recorded through Thomson’s lens accompanied by his words, taken from his three books on China.

Deborah Ireland is a freelance curator and author specialising in the history of photography with an interest in travel photography. Her previous posts include assistant curator at the Royal Photographic Society and director of photography at AA publishing. She has curated exhibitions and written for the Royal Geographical Society, including Isabella Bird, a photographic journal of travels through China 1894 – 1896. A fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, she has been a judge on Travel Photographer of the year since its inception in 2003. Deborah Ireland is leading a tour in October 2025, following in John Thomson’s footsteps from Guangzhou (Canton) to Beijing (Peking).

John Thomson - through China with a camera
6 January 2025
Bath, and online
Book here: https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/john-thomson-through-china-with-a-camera/

Impressions Gallery, Open Eye Gallery and Side Gallery are looking for a Network Coordinator to work to establish a new pilot network across the North for photographers and organisations that are working with photography.

Specifically, the Photo Connect network aims to support those interested in amplifying or expanding photography provision across the North. It is open to anyone wishing to collaborate – individuals, community groups, organisations and educational institutions – and will provide mechanisms to:

• Share information about photography exhibitions, workshops, and events, across the North.
• Manage Photo Connect communications, e.g. Instagram account.
• Share information from photography courses in the north.
• Share photography related news and opportunities.
• Support bespoke carbon literacy training for photographers.
• Provide at least one Photo Connect networking event in each of the 3 north areas North West, Yorkshire and North East.
• Champion the benefits of collaborating to increase reach and impact.
• Better understand the current photography ecology and demand for increased provision.

We know that photography is under-funded in the north, with just two organisations receiving core support from Arts Council England – Impressions Gallery and Open Eye Gallery – which is at odds with the public’s engagement and interest in photography. The Network Coordinator role is critical to establishing the Photo Connect network and driving forward this ambitious 12 month year-long pilot. The Network Coordinator will provide managerial capacity to identify the photography ecology across the North, connect with potential collaborators, and play a key part in planning and delivering the aims and objectives of Photo Connect.

The deadline for expressing interest is 12pm noon on 31 December 2024.

See: https://www.impressions-gallery.com/opportunity/photo-connect-network-coordinator/

Photo Connect is made possible by Arts Council England project funding

The British Library has published a guest blog titled Revisiting Early Photography: Ethics, Legal Constructs, and the Seligmans’ Legacy. It is written by Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra, Adjunct Professor at UNIMAS, Institute of Borneo Studies, Malaysia, and Associate Academic, History of Art, University of Oxford. It is an abbreviated form of a presentation at workshop held at the National Portrait Gallery, London, The British Empire in the Art Gallery: Practises, Discourses and Publics, 27 September, 2024. 

The use of photography in anthropology has a complex history, particularly when it comes to representing indigenous communities through early ethnographic research. When viewing collections such as the early 20th-century images of Sri Lanka’s Vedda community captured by Charles and Brenda Seligman, it is crucial to evaluate them not just for their historical significance but also through the ethical and legal frameworks that apply today...

Read the blog here: https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2024/11/revisiting-early-photography-ethics-legal-constructs-and-the-seligmans-legacy.html

Image: ‘The Vedda country, view from Bendiyagalge rocks’. Photograph from C.G. and B.Z. Seligmann, The Veddas (1911). British Library, T 11173, facing title page.