A Peep in Leigh Woods
1853–56
Medium
Salted paper print
Dimensions
Image: 18.1 × 22 cm (7 1/8 × 8 11/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.382 (20)
Tags
Art Historical Context
James Knight’s *A Peep in Leigh Woods* (1853–56) offers a quiet glimpse into the early years of photography. Created as a salted paper print—a pioneering technique invented by William Henry Fox Talbot—this small image measures just 18.1 by 22 centimeters. The soft, matte surface typical of the process lends the forest scene a gentle, almost painterly quality, inviting viewers to linger over the play of light filtering through the trees. In the 1850s, photography was still establishing itself as both a scientific marvel and an artistic medium. Knight’s choice of a wooded landscape reflects the...