David Young and Unknown Man, Newhaven

David Young and Unknown Man, Newhaven by Robert Adamson|David Octavius Hill|Hill and Adamson

Medium

Salted paper print from paper negative

Dimensions

Image: 6 1/8 × 4 7/16 in. (15.6 × 11.3 cm)

Classification

Photographs

Department

Photographs

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Bequest of Maurice B. Sendak, 2012

Accession Number

2013.159.23

Tags

MenPortraits

Art Historical Context

In the mid-1840s, photographers David Octavius Hill and Adamson captured the rugged character of everyday Scots in their groundbreaking calotype portraits. *David Young and Unknown Man, Newhaven* (1845) exemplifies their partnership, which produced over 2,500 between 1843 and 1848. Set against the fishing village of Newhaven near Edinburgh, this salted paper print depicts two men—likely local fishermen—standing with quiet dignity, their faces and postures revealing the hardships and resilience of working-class life. The calotype process, using a paper negative to create salted paper prints, w...

About the Artist

Robert Adamson|David Octavius Hill|Hill and Adamson (British, Scottish|British, Scottish|British, Scottish) · 1802 |1821 |1843 1870 |1848 |1848

British, Perth, Scotland 1802–1870 Edinburgh, Scotland|British, St. Andrews, Scotland 1821–1848 St. Andrews, Scotland|British, active 1843–1848

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