View at Girgeh
1857
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
David Hunter McAlpin Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.640.1.54
Tags
Art Historical Context
**View at Girgeh**1857) by Francisith captures a serene Egyptian landscape in the town of Girga, along the Nile in Upper Egypt. This albumen silver print from a negative exemplifies Frith's pioneering work as a British photographer who ventured into the Middle East during the 185s. Amidst towers—likely minarets or ancient structures—trees frame the scene, with animals adding a touch of everyday life, evoking the timeless rhythm of rural Egypt. Frith's (1856–1860) produced some of the earliest detailed photographs of Egypt, predating widespread tourism and preservation efforts. Printed using t...
About the Artist
Francis Frith · 1822–1898
Francis Frith (1822–1898) was born on 7 October 1822 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, into a prosperous Quaker merchant family as the second child and only son of Francis Frith Sr. and Alice Walker. Educated at Quaker schools including Ackworth and Camp Hill in Birmingham from around 1828 to 1838, he apprenticed in the cutlery trade before establishing himself as a wholesale grocer in Liverpool, suppl...