Pictures of East Anglian Life
Photograph
1888 (made), 1890 (published)
1888 (made), 1890 (published)
On display at V&A South Kensington
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F| Artist/Maker | |
| Place Of Origin |
In 1889 Emerson published his controversial book Naturalistic Photography for Students of the Art without images. Naturalistic Photography examined his purist approach to photography, derived from his fascination with Naturalism in art, and attacked the prevailing artificial aesthetic in art photography. After its publication Emerson felt that his opponents had misunderstood his ideas. So, in 1890 he selected 10 plates from his book Pictures of East Anglian Life (1888) that best illustrated his theories, and presented them loose in a portfolio dedicated to the ‘photographic student’, with the same title and cover of the book. He then donated copies of this portfolio to every photographic society in the country.
In the note ‘To the Student’, pasted to the inside cover of the Pictures of East Anglian Life portfolio, Emerson declares that, out of the 10 plates selected, the image Where Winds the Dike is the second most successful in portraying his theories on focussing. ‘The whole picture is [deliberately] out of focus’, Emerson writes. He also maintains that no lens yet made could give this effect, perhaps emphasizing his artistic eye.
In the note ‘To the Student’, pasted to the inside cover of the Pictures of East Anglian Life portfolio, Emerson declares that, out of the 10 plates selected, the image Where Winds the Dike is the second most successful in portraying his theories on focussing. ‘The whole picture is [deliberately] out of focus’, Emerson writes. He also maintains that no lens yet made could give this effect, perhaps emphasizing his artistic eye.
object details
| Category | |
| Object Type | |
| Materials and Techniques | |
| Brief Description | Photograph, 'Where winds the Dike', by Peter Henry Emerson, photogravure, Plate 7, from the 'Pictures of East Anglian Life' portfolio, 1890 |
| Physical Description | A mounted black and white photograph showing a small bridge |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | A portfolio containing 10 India proofs taken from the eponymous book (1888, 32 photogravures), published as a companion to his other book 'Naturalistic Photography for Students of the Art' (1889). With preface and Notes to the Student in the inside cover of the portfolio folder. Gift of the photographer 1890, transferred from the Print Collection, 1896 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | In 1889 Emerson published his controversial book Naturalistic Photography for Students of the Art without images. Naturalistic Photography examined his purist approach to photography, derived from his fascination with Naturalism in art, and attacked the prevailing artificial aesthetic in art photography. After its publication Emerson felt that his opponents had misunderstood his ideas. So, in 1890 he selected 10 plates from his book Pictures of East Anglian Life (1888) that best illustrated his theories, and presented them loose in a portfolio dedicated to the ‘photographic student’, with the same title and cover of the book. He then donated copies of this portfolio to every photographic society in the country. In the note ‘To the Student’, pasted to the inside cover of the Pictures of East Anglian Life portfolio, Emerson declares that, out of the 10 plates selected, the image Where Winds the Dike is the second most successful in portraying his theories on focussing. ‘The whole picture is [deliberately] out of focus’, Emerson writes. He also maintains that no lens yet made could give this effect, perhaps emphasizing his artistic eye. |
| Associated Objects | |
| Bibliographic Reference | John Taylor The old order and the new: P H Emerson and photography, 1885-1895 Munich; New York; London: Prestel, 2006. 160p.: ill (some col). ISBN: 3791336991 / 9783791336992. |
| Collection | |
| Accession Number | E.164-2015 |
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| record created | May 11, 2015 |
| Record URL |