Woman, Surrey County Asylum
c. 1855
Medium
albumen print
Dimensions
image: 17.8 × 13.4 cm (7 × 5 1/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Paul Mellon Fund
Accession Number
2007.29.18
Art Historical Context
**Woman, Surrey County Asylum** (c. 1855) is a poignant albumen print by Dr Hugh Welch Diamond, a British psychiatrist and early photographer. Measuring 17.8 × 13.4 cm, this intimate portrait captures a female patient at the Surrey County Asylum, Diamond served as superintendent from 1848 to 1858. As one of the first to photograph asylum residents, Diamond believed images could reveal inner states of mind, blending medical documentation with artistic portraiture. Created using the albumen process—egg whites coated on paper for exceptional clarity and warm tones—this photograph exemplifies mid...