Watersmeet, The Cottage and Streams
1860/94
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 12.7 × 20 cm (5 × 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
albumen silver print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
38298
Art Historical Context
**Watersmeet, The Cottage and Streams** (1860/94) by Francis Bedford captures the serene beauty of a rural English idyll, likely inspired by the dramatic confluence of rivers at Watersmeet in Devon. Bedford, a pioneering British photographer active in the mid-19th century, specialized in architectural and landscape views, often blending technical precision with a romantic appreciation for nature. This albumen print reflects the era's growing fascination with picturesque scenery, as railways and tourism opened remote spots to artists and the public, turning natural wonders into celebrated subje...
About the Artist
Francis Bedford · 1816–1894
Francis Bedford (1816–1894) was a pioneering British photographer, born in London as the eldest son of the church architect Francis Octavius Bedford.) He trained as an architectural draughtsman and lithographer, exhibiting drawings of architectural subjects from his late teens and listing "Lithographic Artist" as his profession in the 1851 census.) In the early 1850s, Bedford turned to photography...