Pictures of East Anglian Life
Portfolio
1890
1890
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.
Object details
Object type | |
Title | Pictures of East Anglian Life (series title) |
Materials and techniques | |
Brief description | Folder, drawn by Thomas Frederick Goodall, from the 'Pictures of East Anglian Life' portfolio, London, May 1890. A portfolio containing 10 India proofs taken from the book of the same title (1888), published as a companion to Naturalistic Photography for Students of the Art (1889). With preface and Notes to the Student in the inside cover of the portfolio folder. |
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. |
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.167-2015 |
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Record created | May 11, 2015 |
Record URL |
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