[John Tenniel]
![[John Tenniel] by John and Charles Watkins](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/john-tenniel-686105.webp)
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
Approx. 10.2 x 6.3 cm (4 x 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Albert Ten Eyck Gardner Collection, Gift of the Centennial Committee, 1970
Accession Number
1970.659.766
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate carte-de-visite portrait captures Tenniel, the renowned illustrator best known for his iconic wood engravings in Lewis Carroll's *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Photographed by the studio of John and Charles Watkins in 1860s, it exemplifies the era's booming portrait photography, where small, affordable prints like this 10.2 x 6.3 cm albumen print became collectible "calling cards" traded among admirers of public figures. The Watkins brothers, prominent London photographers, specialized in capturing the era's intellectuals, artists, and celebrities with a crisp, formal...
About the Artist
John and Charles Watkins · 1840–1875
**John and Charles Watkins: Pioneers of Victorian Portrait Photography** John Watkins (1823–1874) and his younger brother Octavius Charles Watkins (1836–1882) were prominent British portrait photographers whose collaborative studio captured the luminaries of Victorian Britain.) Born in Raglan, Monmouthshire, Wales, John began his career around 1840, establishing a studio at 34 Parliament Street i...