Dr. Monro
Medium
Salted paper print from paper negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.98.2.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Dr. Monro** (1843–47) is a striking salted paper print from a paper negative, created by pioneering Scottish partnership of David Octavius and Robert Adamson., a noted painter, teamed up with the young photographer Adamson in 1843 to document the Disruption of the Church of Scotland, producing over 2,500 calotype images in just four years. This portrait captures Dr. Monro, a prominent figure of the era, with a direct gaze and soft tonal gradations characteristic of their collaborative genius. The calotype process, using paper negatives, marked a revolutionary leap in photography, allowing f...
About the Artist
David Octavius Hill|Robert Adamson|Hill and Adamson · 1802–1870
David Octavius Hill (1802–1870) was a Scottish painter, photographer, and arts administrator whose pioneering photography partnership with Robert Adamson from 1843 to 1847 transformed the medium into an art form. Born in Perth and trained in Edinburgh, Hill established himself as a landscape painter and became secretary of the Royal Scottish Academy, a position he held for nearly forty years. His ...