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Kate Dore with Photogram Frame of Ferns
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 - Enlarge image
Kate Dore with Photogram Frame of Ferns
- Object:
Photograph
- Place of origin:
Isle of Wight, England (photographed)
- Date:
ca. 1864 (photographed)
- Artist/Maker:
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 (photographer)
Rejlander, Oscar Gustav, born 1813 - died 1887 (photographer) - Materials and Techniques:
Albumen print; the ferns added by the photogram technique
- Museum number:
PH.258-1982
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case X, shelf 311, box P
This print is a photogram, a technique of making a picture without a camera or lens. Photograms are made by placing objects on top of a piece of photographic paper and then exposing the composition to light. In this example, ferns were placed in contact with the glass negative prior to printing-out in sunlight.
This appears to be unique in Cameron's oeuvre, as she did not use photogram techniques elsewhere in her work. However, it is typical of her iconoclastic and experimental methods. She embellished a portrait, known to be by Oscar Rejlander, by placing ferns between the negative and the printing paper. The ferns, printing as white, perhaps symbolise the delicate sensibility of the young woman, and perhaps her 'naturalness'.
