Elaine 'the Lily maid of Astolat'
Photograph
1874 (photographed)
1874 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 1874 Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, invited Cameron to make photographic illustrations to Idylls of the King, his series of narrative poems based on the legends of King Arthur. After her large photographs were published as small, wood-cut copies, Cameron decided to produce an edition illustrated by original photographic prints accompanied by hand-written extracts from the poems printed in facsimile. She claimed to have made as many as 245 exposures to arrive at the 25 she finally published in two volumes in 1874 and 1875. This is a cabinet-sized version of the photograph.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Elaine 'the Lily maid of Astolat' (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative |
| Brief description | Photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 'Elaine "The Lily Maid of Astolat"' (sitter May Prinsep), albumen print, 1874 |
| Physical description | A cabinet photograph of a seated woman (May Prinsep)shown in profile with long unbound hair. |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund. |
| Object history | This is cabinet version of a photograph that was originally included in a bound folio volume containing 13 photographs by Cameron and text by Tennyson, Volume 1 of two albums of illustrations to Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King and other Poems' published by Henry S. King & Co., 1874-75). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Literary reference | 'Illustrations to Tennyson's Idylls of the King, and other poems', vol. 1, by Julia Margaret Cameron. London: Henry S. King & Co., 1875. |
| Summary | In 1874 Alfred Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, invited Cameron to make photographic illustrations to Idylls of the King, his series of narrative poems based on the legends of King Arthur. After her large photographs were published as small, wood-cut copies, Cameron decided to produce an edition illustrated by original photographic prints accompanied by hand-written extracts from the poems printed in facsimile. She claimed to have made as many as 245 exposures to arrive at the 25 she finally published in two volumes in 1874 and 1875. This is a cabinet-sized version of the photograph. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | RPS.744-2017 |
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| Record created | June 12, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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