Blogs

Piece against the forthcoming RSM sale... The Royal Society of Medicine is putting some of its rarest books and photographs up for sale at Christie’s this month. Is this a case of medical negligence?

https://apollo-magazine.com/royal-society-medicine-christies-auction-rare-books-photographs/

BPH notes: the sale was reported here: https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/auction-hugh-welch-diamond-and-early-photography-london-10-decemb In a follow up the RSM supplied a comment which was taken from the sale press release: 

“Proceeds will be directly invested into strengthening the RSM's offer, delivering clear benefits for their members: modernised spaces, enhanced digital platforms, and expanded learning opportunities. Items not yet online will be professionally digitised, ensuring lasting access to educate and inspire generations to come.” 

It referred subsequent enquries to Christie's. Specific questions to the RSM were not asnwered directly beyond the statement noted, and the same questions, below, have also been put to Christie's: 

• What criteria was used to determine what is to be sold?
• What is the reason behind the sale?
• What will the money raised be used for?
• In view of Christie’s buyer’s premium, can you confirm that the RSM negotiated no commission/charges on the sale to maximise the income to the Society?

 In the event the photographs are sold to a buyer outside of the UK then RSM may have to wait for its money as they will be likely subject to an export licence.  

Discover the untold story of seven remarkable sisters who helped shape the 19th-century cultural spirit. Step into the vivid, unconventional world of Women of Influence: The Pattle Sisters, an exhibition at Watts Gallery in Surrey.

This exhibition brings to life the legacy of seven extraordinary Anglo-Indian sisters whose influence rippled through the worlds of art, literature, photography, and society. Nicknamed “Pattledom” by the writer William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), the sisters’ world was one of rich cross-cultural exchange, where Anglo-Indian heritage, European influence, and artistic experimentation converged in a vibrant social sphere that defied Victorian convention.

Whilst the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) is today the most celebrated of the seven Pattle sisters, this exhibition uncovers their collective impact through artistic experimentation, intellectual exchange, and the creation of an extraordinary cultural salon at Little Holland House in Kensington. Here, artists, writers, scientists, musicians, and politicians gathered each week, drawn into the orbit of the dynamic Pattle women and the visionary painter G F Watts, who lived and worked amongst them.

Through rarely seen portraits, evocative photographs, treasured possessions, and new research, visitors will meet the wider sisterhood and discover how their influence extended from Calcutta, India (now Kolkata) to Kensington, and from the salons of Little Holland House to the Bloomsbury Group.

A new book accompanies the exhibition Women of Influence: The Pattle Sisters at Watts Gallery, which is the first to explore the lives, influence, and legacy of the seven Pattle sisters: Adeline, Julia, Sara, Mia, Louisa, Virginia and Sophia. Born and raised in India and educated in France, the sisters became renowned for their wit, talent, style and the influential artistic salons they hosted at Little Holland House in London.

Drawing on new research, and featuring essays by Emily Burns, Caroline Dakers, Gursimran Oberoi, William Dalrymple, Jeff Rosen and Marion Dell, this book reveals how the Pattle sisters helped shape nineteenth-century art, ideas and society in ways that continue to reverberate today.

Women of Influence: The Pattle Sisters
until 4 May 2026
Watts Gallery, Down Lane, Compton, Surrey, GU3 1DQ
See: https://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/women-of-influence-the-pattle-sisters

A new website explores the history of Polyfoto which began as a chain of high street photography studios in the United Kingdom and is best known for its sheets of multiple-pose images. The website has put out a call for people's own Polyfoto images. 

See: http://www.polyfoto.co.uk/

The newly relaunched journal Visual Culture in Britain is offering two prizes. The Pete James Collection Prize 2026, is in collaboration with Birmingham City University which houses Pete's archive. Applicants are invited to spend time with the Pete James Collection at Birmingham City University.

The Peter James Collection Prize aims to support researchers at any career stage with access to the collection, staff mentorship and a prize of £1000 co-supported by the institution and the Journal of Visual Culture in Britain on behalf of Taylor & Francis. The successful applicant will be expected to submit a Visual Culture in Focus article (2,000-4,000-word) (see guidance here: Learn about Visual Culture in Britain) by Tuesday 1st September 2026. The money will be awarded on submission and acceptance of the article. This will then be published in the final issue of the year (December 2026). Applications for the 2026 prize is open until Monday 05th January 2026. The collection will be accessible between February and July 2026.

To celebrate the relaunch the JVCB has announced an essay prize for original research articles that build on the editorial vision of the journal. It encourages critical approaches that propose novel or expansive ways of rethinking the journal’s title - what does ‘visual culture in Britain’ look like today? - by engaging with visual culture’s past, present or future histories.

The competition aims to highlight and celebrate original research on any aspect of visual culture and is open to scholars at all career levels. Submissions are welcome from all regions but must be written in English. The essay, unpublished, will be between 6,000 and 8,000 words in length and follow the guidelines outlined on the journal webpage here.

The winner will receive:

• Publication in Visual Culture in Britain following the peer-review process. Please note that any image costs will need to be covered by the prize winner.

• £500 cash prize.

All entries will be considered for submission to the journal. Runners up will receive expert feedback and editorial support towards peer review and publication.

Entries must be submitted by Monday 27th April 2026 to vcbessayprize@gmail.com All entries will be reviewed and shortlisted by the editors against criteria of academic rigour, originality and advancement of visual culture methodologies. The shortlisted essays will then be submitted to a panel composed of members of our Advisory Board who will select the winner. Decisions will be communicated in June 2026. The winner will be published in our December 2026 issue.

Appearing three times a year, Visual Culture in Britain is dedicated to exploring the generative interrelations between visual culture, individuals, and societies in Britain, both historically and today. The journal publishes new peer-reviewed scholarship that investigates the forms, spaces, processes, and politics through which visual worlds/materials are made meaningful, and examines their effects within an expanded and unsettled concept of ‘Britishness’. Visual Culture in Britain is inclusive and interdisciplinary, welcoming submissions at any time, for original articles, features, special issues, and reviews. The editors are: Gary Bratchford, Birmingham City University, Sara Dominici, University of Westminster, and Victoria Horne, Northumbria University.

See more: Pete James Collection Prize 2026 and Eassy Prize and past articles and open access articles here

The UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport has published museum visitor numbers to September 2025. This set is of particular interest as it includes the period when the museum had fully open with its Sound and Vision galleries from July 2025. The graph below shows the equivalent period (July-September) from 2019 and includes the covid lockdowns and period when the museum was closed for refurbishment.  

We invite proposals for conference papers, performances and workshops examining darkness and its intersections with photography, exploring all facets including but not limited to: technology and the black box; the darkroom and laboratory; artificial darkness; dark skies and landscape; mining and minerals; archaeology, the subterranean or underground, technologies of vision; race and identity, including the politics of visibility and invisibility; psyche and wellbeing; the body, interiority and its shadow; architecture after Tanizaki; contemporary politics and totalitarianism; incarceration and punishment; technological limit and failure; blackouts; scientific imaging and black holes. 

Darkness: A Photography Conference 
Organised by the Photography programme of the School of Digital Arts, Manchester School of Art.
19-20 March 2026
Call for papers, performances and workshops: Deadline 12 December 2025

Please send paper abstracts (of a maximum of 300 words), performance proposals (of 200 words plus 2-3 images or 2 minutes of footage) and workshop proposals (200 words, 2-3 images and a list of materials or media requirements) to Duncan Wooldridge at d.wooldridge@mmu.ac.uk by 5pm, 12th December 2025

The annual Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards celebrate excellence in photography and moving image publishing. They recognise individuals who have made an outstanding or original contribution to the literature, art or practice of photography or the moving image. Two winning titles are selected: one in the field of photography and one in the field of the moving image. The author/s or editor/s of each winning book receive a £5,000 cash prize.

Submissions are welcome from publishers, authors, collectives and individuals self-publishing their work. There is no entry fee.

• Books must be published between 1 January and 31 December 2025
• Books must be published, distributed or available to buy (including online) in the UK

Further details, terms and conditions, and the entry form for the 2026 Awards can be found here.

Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975. Featuring prints, postcards, photobooks and magazines, the exhibition explores the role of photographers as image-makers, and the ways in which women artists create an image of themselves, of others, of the times – from images of the women’s suffrage movement at the turn of the twentieth century, through to the women’s liberation movement and beyond. From Melbourne to Tokyo, Paris to Buenos Aires, the exhibition showcases the works of trailblazing artists such as Berenice Abbott, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, Imogen Cunningham, Mikki Ferrill, Sue Ford, Christine Godden, Ponch Hawkes, Annemarie Heinrich, Ruth Hollick, Florence Henri, Kati Horna, Germaine Krull, Tina Modotti, Lucia Moholy, Toyoko Tokiwa, Yamazawa Eiko and many more.

The exhibition reflects a recent collecting focus on celebrating the contributions of women artists of the early twentieth century in the NGV Photography Collection. Featuring portraiture, photojournalism, landscape photography, photomontage, experimental avant-garde imagery and more, Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light presents the diverse work of women photographers against the backdrop of significant social, political and cultural events.

Opening in November 2025, the exhibition coincides with the fifty-year anniversary of International Women’s Year 1975, which established the United Nations’ annual celebration of International Women’s Day.

Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light
until 3 May 2026
NGV, Melbourne, Australia
See: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/women-photographers-1900-1975/

See: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2025/nov/30/women-photographers-1900-to-1975-a-legacy-of-light-in-pictures

Image: Gertrude KASEBIER, The gargoyle (c. 1900), platinum photograph, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the Herald & Weekly Times Limited, Fellow, 1979. PH27-1979

The Martin Parr Foundation is seeking to appoint two new Trustees to its board. Launched in 2017, the Foundation is a charity that supports emerging, established and overlooked photographers who have made and continue to make work focussed on the British Isles. It preserves a growing collection of significant photographic works and strives to make photography engaging and accessible for all.

The Foundation is seeking individuals with a passionate interest in photography, who can offer commitment, time, the ability to work collaboratively and an understanding of the principles of good governance. In addition, it is looking for candidates with significant experience in one or both of the following areas:

• Business and/or finance
• The photography industry

Further details, including timeline, term of appointment and how to apply are available via the MPF website.

With the 2025 Routledge publication Conservation of Photographs: Significance, Use, and Care as a starting point, we are pleased to announce the following upcoming international program. Join leaders and allied professionals in a free online exploration of the evolving field of photograph conservation.

Co-Organized by the American Institute for Conservation, Photographic Materials Group (AIC PMG), and the International Council of Museums - Committee for Conservation, Photographic Materials Working Group (ICOM-CC PMWG), this session promises to be an engaging and far-reaching exchange among colleagues dedicated to the preservation and understanding of photographic heritage. 

Program Title: Conservation of Photographs: Significance, Use, Care, and Direction
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Time: 08:00 EST / 13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET / 21:00 HKT
Duration: 2 hours
Registration will be free, see: https://www.icom-cc.org/en/news/conservation-of-photographs-significance-use-care-and-direction-icom-cc-photographic-materials-working-group 

Image: The Met's dedicated photograph conservation lab in 2001, seen here before it was fully occupied. Pictured from left to right are Nora Kennedy, Erin Murphy, Adrienne Lundgren, and Nancy Reinhold. Image credit: Juan Trujillo.

Programme

Welcome

Dr. Richard Mulholland. Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University and ICOM-CC Photographic Materials Working Group Coordinator (UK)
Tatiana Cole. Conservator of Photographs, Harvard Art Museums and AIC Photographic Materials Group Chair (USA)

 Book Editors’ Remarks: Context and vision behind Conservation of Photographs: Significance, Use, and Care

Nora Kennedy. Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA)
Bertrand Lavédrine. Full Professor, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (France)
Debbie Hess Norris. Chair and Professor, Art Conservation Department, University of Delaware (USA)
Moderator: Luisa Casella. Independent Photograph Conservator (USA) 

Purpose and Value of Photograph Holdings Around the World - Now and in the Future

Soledad Abarca. Director, National Library of Chile (Chile)
Sérgio Burgi. Head Curator of Photography, Instituto Moreira Salles (Brazil)
Denise Bethel. Independent Advisor, Researcher, Writer, Lecturer (USA)
Moderator: Clara von Waldthausen. Director, MA Programme Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Global Challenges, Education, and Building Capacity

Paul Ninson. Founder and Executive Director, Dikan (Ghana)
Estíbaliz Guzmán. Senior Conservator of Photographs, Centro Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Mexico)
Girikumar. Conservator in Private Practice (India)
Moderator: Dr. Richard Mulholland.Senior Lecturer, Northumbria University and ICOM-CC Photographic Materials Working Group Coordinator (UK)

Future Direction in the Field of Photograph Conservation

Rana Nasser Eddin. Director, Arab Image Foundation (Lebanon)
Fred Ritchin. Author, Educator, Editor, and Curator (USA)
Paul Messier. Photographic Print Research, Analysis and Consulting (USA)
Moderator: Marta García Celma. Senior Conservator, M+ Museum (Hong Kong)

Since its inception, photography has relied upon diverse forms of knowledge (ranging from chemistry, physics, and mechanics to the arts) and in turn has produced knowledge across a wide array of fields.

Yet, much of this knowledge remains tacit. Researchers attempting to recreate early photographic techniques know all too well that faithfully following historical manuals or recipes does not always yield successful results. These instructions often depend on implicit knowledge, unspoken assumptions, or experiential skills acquired only through practice and repetition. Similarly, photography’s epistemological contributions to areas such as medicine and industry, where cameras and photographs have functioned as instrumental tools, are frequently overlooked or under-acknowledged.

Even in efforts to recover these unspoken practices, scholars and historians may inadvertently reinforce their invisibility. While historiographical approaches may attempt to bridge these gaps, the absence of explicit methodological reflection often perpetuates reliance on assumed, unspoken knowledge.

Given this persistent invisibility, it would seem timely to examine the political, social, and cultural implications of photography’s tacit knowledge. In other words, as photography studies grow increasingly interdisciplinary, and as generative AI reshapes research and creative practices, it appears to be more important than ever to clearly articulate methods and theoretical frameworks.

For the 2026 PHRC Annual Conference, we invite papers that investigate the many ways in which photography has relied upon, generated, challenged, or perpetuated tacit knowledge. We are particularly interested in contributions that interrogate the politics of this knowledge and offer methodological or theoretical insight.

Photography's Tacit Knowledge
Photographic History Research Centre
15-16 June 2026
Hybrid event, Online and at De Montfort University, Leicester.
Conference hashtag #PHRC26
See full details here: https://photographichistory.wordpress.com/annual-conference-2026/

Image: A photographer using a process camera for printing plate making. 1934 (Deutsche Fotothek).

Colmore BID is shining a spotlight on one of its most overlooked innovators, unveiling a brand-new exhibition Birmingham’s Photographic Pioneer’ honouring George Shaw (1818-1904). Produced by artist Jo Gane and organised and funded by Colmore Business District (BID), the free, open to all exhibition explores Shaw’s pioneering contributions to photography, science and civic life, and aims to restore his rightful place among the city’s celebrated figures. The exhibition builds on initial work by Pete James. 

While Birmingham proudly commemorates icons like Boulton and Watt, Benjamin Zephaniah, Ozzy Osbourne and even the fictional Tommy Shelby, George Shaw’s legacy has remained largely unrecognised – until now. Born in Dudley and the son of a glass maker, Shaw was a patent agent, chemist, artist and educator who made Birmingham’s first daguerreotype photograph in 1839. Shaw’s influence extended far beyond photography, lecturing widely on chemistry and scientific advancements. He played a key role in the city’s educational institutions, helping to establish Birmingham’s first free public library. His work caught the attention of scientist Michael Faraday, where Shaw collaborated with metallurgist John Percy on groundbreaking photographic experiments.

Designed and arranged by Birmingham designer Stacey Barnfield, the exhibition is located at the West Midlands Metro Town Hall stop, outside Queens College Chambers, a key building where Shaw lectured and undertook his practice. It will showcase reproductions of rare daguerreotypes uncovered by the late Pete James, former curator of photographs at Birmingham Central Library. These images, now the subject of a practice-based PhD study by artist Jo Gane, offer a unique glimpse into Shaw’s artistic and scientific legacy. 

In partnership with the Colmore BID team, Gane has developed this exhibition to reconnect Birmingham with its innovative industrial and artistic past. She said: “It has been a privilege to research Shaw’s photographs and uncover the activities of his network in Birmingham that tells a fascinating story of art, science and industry.”

Exhibition highlights include reproductions of rare daguerreotypes and calotype photographs by George Shaw, archival materials and artworks from Shaw’s collaborations with John Percy and Frederick Henry Henshaw, insight into Shaw’s role in major exhibitions including the 1851 Great Exhibition and displays exploring early photographic processes and Birmingham’s role in their development.

Melanie Williams, Colmore BID Board Director and lead of Outstanding Places said: “George Shaws’ story is a powerful reminder of Birmingham’s legacy as a city of innovation and creativity. We’re proud to deliver this exhibition which not only celebrates a largely unrecognised pioneer, but also invites the city to better reflect and respect its rich industrial and artistic heritage.”

Birmingham’s Photographic Pioneer’ honouring George Shaw (1818-1904)
on view through November/December 2025
Outdoors, by West Midlands Metro Town Hall stop, outside Queens College Chambers, Birmingham
Produced by Jo Gane, with Birmingham BID
For more information, visit https://colmorebusinessdistrict.com/projects/george-shaw/.  

Installation shots courtesy Jo Gane.

A collection of original Blake and Edgar glass plates and photographs, approx. 30 in number,  are to be sold through auction at Peacocks Auction House, Bedford https://www.peacockauction.co.uk on 5 December 2025.  Blake and Edgar were prominent photographers in Bedford from c1870 and the collection includes many Victorian photographs of Bedford as well as an additional collection dating from the 1950/70s.

Antique Furniture and Collectors Items
5 December 2025 from 1030
See the auction catalogue here

Housed in the extraordinary spaces of Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai, which for years hosted the Photothek of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, the exhibition offers a critical and engaging reading of Florence through photographs by Italian-German artist and filmmaker Armin Linke, in dialogue with historical documentary photographs from the Photothek. The exhibition explores archives, museums and collections where works of art, documents, materials and knowledge have sedimented, forming and transforming the image of the city of Florence. The exhibition will be accompanied by a concept book that should appear in January 2026.

Armin Linke: The City as Archive. Florence
Curated by Hannah Baader and Costanza Caraffa

An exhibition by the
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut

12 November 2025–31 January 2026

Holiday closure
22 December 2025–1 January 2026

Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai
Via dei Servi 51
50122 Florence

Opening hours
Thursday 14–20, Friday 14–19, Saturday 14–19

Free admission

Contact:
cityasarchive@khi.fi.it

More on the KHI website

The European Society for the History of Photography has reported the death of Alistair Crawford after a long illness. In 1974 he became Lecturer in Graphic Art and Curator of Graphic Art at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he remained for 37 years. There he taught art practice: Printmaking, Book Illustration, Typography, Photography and in art history: Art in Wales, History Graphic, History of Photography, Museum & Art Gallery Studies.

Between 2004 and 2008 Alistair Crawford was the dedicated co-editor for the research journals of the European Society for the History of Photography (ESHPh) based in Vienna (Austria) such as PhotoResearcher, The Proceedings, The International Newsletter. In 2008 he contributed also to the anniversary book Jubilee 30 Years ESHPh, and Congress of Photography, in Vienna.

He was also an accomplished artist and writer. 

See: http://www.eshph.org/beispiel-seite/ and: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/oct/31/alistair-crawford-obituary and http://www.alistaircrawford.co.uk/pdf.php?file=biography.pdf

Photo: Robert Greetham

Gray Levett is researching London's camera shops for a future feature in Nikon Owner magazine and is looking for photographs of the exterior of the Fox Talbot shop which stood at 179 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1.

If you can help please post the image here and get in touch with Gray on 020 7828 4925 or email: gray@graysofwestminster.co.uk

This fourth Museum Dialogues workshop explores photography as a participatory medium that enables public interaction and the development of new social dynamics and relationships, extending beyond an institution’s physical space. 

Contributors share diverse approaches to using photography as a tool for civic engagement and activism, as well as methods to build photographic exhibitions and archives outside traditional institutional structures, giving agency to underrepresented communities, decentring mainstream narratives and driving social change. The discussion will address issues of ethics, ownership and guardianship, alongside institutional requirements for archiving co-created work produced through socially engaged practice.

Speakers:

Pål Henrik Ekern, Diversity Curator, Preus Museum, Norway
Tamsin Silvey, Cultural Programme Curator, Historic England, UK
Anthony Luvera, socially engaged artist, writer and educator, UK, in conversation with Carol McKay, writer and curator, UK 

Museum Dialogues aims to transcend the disciplinary boundaries of art history, visual culture, photography, new media, museum and curating studies and bridge theory and practice. Bringing together academic researchers and practitioners, the programme has supported the exchange of innovative solutions, inquiries, and practical challenges relating to the exhibition, collection, and interpretation of photography.

Socially Engaged Photography within and outside of the Museum
Online, Wednesday 3 December 2025, 1300-1600 (GMT)
Free, register here: https://northeastphoto.net/project/museum-dialogues/workshop-4/