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Recto of print -
Recto of print with original mount -
Verso of original mount -
Photomicrograph showing print surface (scale bar is in micrometers) -
Photomicrograph showing print surface (scale bar is in micrometers) -
Photomicrograph showing smalt particles embedded in paper (scale bar is in micrometers) -
A photogravure reproduction of this work in Camera Work -
A photogravure reproduction of this work in Camera Work
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1802–1870 and 1821–1848)
Mrs. Anna Brownell Jameson, 1844
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949.687
The work of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson was an inspiration to Pictorialist photographers active in later decades. Admirers of the duo’s work praised its grainy textures and rich tonality, comparing their work to that of Rembrandt. Alfred Stieglitz twice published this portrait of the writer and art historian Anna Brownell Jameson in Camera Work. This salt print was likely created while Hill and Adamson were still active. Materials research has revealed that the paper Hill and Adamson used contains microscopic specks of blue glass—an additive typically used to brighten writing papers—reflecting the improvised nature of the photographic process at this time.
Additional resources related to this object are to the right. Comprehensive material analysis can be found in the Object Research PDF.