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Dog balancing on two chairs
Clementina, Lady Hawarden, born 1822 - died 1865 - Enlarge image
Dog balancing on two chairs
- Object:
Photograph
- Date:
ca. 1861 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Clementina, Lady Hawarden, born 1822 - died 1865 (photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Albumen print from wet collodion on glass negative
- Credit Line:
Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham
- Museum number:
PH.457:330-1968
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case X, shelf 33H, box XIII
Physical description
5 Princes Gardens, exterior: terrace: poodle with clipped coat balancing on backs of two chairs. Backs of houses in Princes Gate in background.
Date
ca. 1861 (made)
Artist/maker
Clementina, Lady Hawarden, born 1822 - died 1865 (photographer)
Materials and Techniques
Albumen print from wet collodion on glass negative
Dimensions
Height: 97 mm, Length: 75 mm
Object history note
Lady Clementina Hawarden took up photography about 1857 and became one of the most experimental and original photographers of the nineteenth century. She often used her children, husband and servants as models. The full-length looking-glass mirror which often appears in her pictures was known as a ‘psyche’ and is a visual pun on the Greek god ‘Psyche’, who represented the spiritual aspect of mankind. So the mirror and figures together in her pictures seem to represent the spiritual and material aspects of human life.
Historical context note
From departmental notes
'Clementina, Lady Hawarden (Untitled) Photographic Study (or) Study from Life (D.353) c.1861 5 Princes Gardens, exterior: terrace: poodle with clipped coat balancing on backs of two chairs. Backs of houses in Princes Gate in background. 97 x 75 mm PH 457-1968:330 Literature: Microfilm: 3.19.438 Also: ed. Alexandra Noble, The Animal in Photography 1843-1985, 1986, p.28. The Animal in Photography 1843-1985, The Photographers' Gallery, 1986. A performing poodle takes centre stage in this photograph. As in Lady Hawarden's other photographs of dogs, the spontaneity and informality of the composition enhance its instantaneity. The exposure lasted perhaps not more than a second, considering the difficulty of keeping the dog in such a precarious position. He is perfectly aligned with the balustrade and his shadow is linked with those of the chairs'
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Literature: Microfilm: 3.19.438 Also: ed. Alexandra Noble, The Animal in Photography 1843-1985, 1986, p.28.
Exhibition History
The Animal in Photography 1843-1985, The Photographers' Gallery, 1986
Subjects depicted
Dog
Categories
Photographs
Collection code
PDP
