Biaritz; SIr Baldwin Leighton, Miss M. Leighton, Miss Leighton
1853–56
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Image: 13.3 × 16.8 cm (5 1/4 × 6 5/8 in.) (a) Image: 6.3 × 4.8 cm (2 1/2 × 1 7/8 in.) (b) Sheet: 7.9 × 5.7 cm (3 1/8 × 2 1/4 in.) (b)
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 (63a, b)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This albumen silver print by James Knight, dated 1853–56, offers a charming glimpse into mid-Vict leisure and early photography. Created during the medium’s rapid rise, the work combines a larger landscape view of Biarritz with smaller portraits of Sir Baldwin Leighton and the Miss Leightons. Albumen prints were prized for their fine detail and warm tonal range, allowing photographers to record both sweeping coastal scenery and intimate family likenesses on the same sheet. The images reflect the growing fashion among British elites for seaside resorts such as Biarritz, then newly accessible b...