Clinton Parry
c. 1868
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image: 34.6 × 24.9 cm (13 5/8 × 9 13/16 in.); Mount: 44.3 × 35.5 cm (17 1/2 × 14 in.)
Classification
albumen silver print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
150113
Art Historical Context
Julia Margaret Cameron's *Clinton Parry* (c. 1868) is a captivating albumen silver print portrait that exemplifies the artist's groundbreaking approach to photography during the Victorian era. Cameron, a self-taught photographer who began her career at age 48, transformed the medium from mere documentation into poetic fine art. This intimate image, measuring 34.6 × 24.9 cm on its mount, likely captures a young subject—possibly a family member—in a soft-focus style that blurred the lines between photography and painting, evoking the dreamlike quality of Pre-Raphaelite art. The albumen print te...
About the Artist
Julia Margaret Cameron · 1815–1879
Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879), born Julia Margaret Pattle in Calcutta, India, emerged as one of the 19th century's most innovative photographers despite beginning her career at age 48. The daughter of East India Company official James Pattle and French aristocrat Adeline de l'Etang, she was educated in France from 1818 to 1834 alongside her six surviving sisters, renowned for their beauty and...