Robert Dundas Cay

Art Historical Context

Step into the dawn of photography with *Robert Dundas Cay* (1843–44), a masterful salted paper print from a paper negative by the pioneering Scottish duo David Octavius Hill and Adamson. Captured during the exciting early years of the medium, this intimate portrait depicts a thoughtful man surrounded by books, evoking the intellectual pursuits of 19th-century Scotland. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Photographs Department, it exemplifies the calotype process—Hill's artistic vision paired with Adamson's technical expertise in chemistry and optics. Hill and Adamson, often credited t...

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 ...