The Castle of the Mains, Forfarshire
1856
Medium
Albumen silver print
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.606.1.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
John Sturrock’s “The Castle of the Mains, Forfarshire” (1856) offers a rare early photographic glimpse of a historic Scottish stronghold in what is now Angus, Scotland. Created just seventeen years after photography’s public debut, the image reflects the Victorian fascination with documenting ancient architecture before further decay or modernization could alter it. The castle, shown with its sturdy stone walls and towers, stands as a testament to medieval defensive design while also serving as a subject for the new art of photography. The work is an albumen silver print, the most popular pho...