Holyhead Harbour thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Holyhead Harbour

Photograph
May 1889 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Rupert Potter (1832-1914), father of the children's writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), took up photography in the 1860s when it was still a relatively new art form. An enthusiastic and skilled amateur, he was elected to the Photographic Society of London in 1869 and later contributed to photographic exhibitions. Rupert assisted the artist Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896), a close friend, by photographing backgrounds for paintings and sitters for portraits. His favourite subject, however, was Beatrix herself and his prolific legacy of several hundred photographs forms a broad pictorial account of her life from infancy to marriage.

This photograph shows a view of the quayside at Holyhead Harbour. It probably dates from May 1889, the date of a pen and ink drawing of a closely related view by Beatrix Potter, also part of the Linder Bequest (see BP.309). Rupert Potter’s photograph shows a broad view of the harbour with two ships, while his daughter’s drawing is focused on an area seen in the upper right hand side of this photograph. If Beatrix Potter’s drawing was made on the spot, she and her father may have worked side by side.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHolyhead Harbour (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print on paper
Brief description
Photograph of Holyhead Harbour by Rupert Potter, likely to have been taken in May 1889; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.554
Physical description
Landscape format photograph showing a view of the quayside at Holyhead Harbour, with two ships in the foreground.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 157mm
  • Sheet width: 216mm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'Holyhead' (inscribed in pencil on the verso)
Credit line
Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number]
Object history
Photograph taken by Rupert Potter at Holyhead, probably in May 1889. Acquired by the V&A from Leslie Linder (1904-1973) in 1973 as part of the Linder Bequest, a collection of ca. 2150 watercolours, drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, books, photographs, and other memorabilia associated with Beatrix Potter and her family.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Rupert Potter (1832-1914), father of the children's writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), took up photography in the 1860s when it was still a relatively new art form. An enthusiastic and skilled amateur, he was elected to the Photographic Society of London in 1869 and later contributed to photographic exhibitions. Rupert assisted the artist Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896), a close friend, by photographing backgrounds for paintings and sitters for portraits. His favourite subject, however, was Beatrix herself and his prolific legacy of several hundred photographs forms a broad pictorial account of her life from infancy to marriage.

This photograph shows a view of the quayside at Holyhead Harbour. It probably dates from May 1889, the date of a pen and ink drawing of a closely related view by Beatrix Potter, also part of the Linder Bequest (see BP.309). Rupert Potter’s photograph shows a broad view of the harbour with two ships, while his daughter’s drawing is focused on an area seen in the upper right hand side of this photograph. If Beatrix Potter’s drawing was made on the spot, she and her father may have worked side by side.
Bibliographic reference
Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection : the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material : watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.60, cat. no. LB.554 Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection: the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material: watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.60; no.554
Other number
LB.554 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.318

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Record createdJuly 23, 2015
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