[Richard James Lane]
![[Richard James Lane] by John and Charles Watkins](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/richard-james-lane-685835.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
1970.659.495
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate carte-de-visite portrait captures Richard James Lane, a 19th-century Britishographer and engraver known for his delicate reproductive prints after artists like Richard Doyle. Photographed by the Watkins brothers—John and Charles, esteemed London studio photographers—in the 1860s, the image exemplifies the era's booming portraiture trend At just 10.2 x 6.3 cm, it fits perfectly into the pocket-sized carte-de-visite format, revolutionized social exchange by turning photographs into collectible calling cards exchanged among Victorian elites. The medium, an albumen silver print, was...
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...