19thC; Hawarden C, D 292, 5 Princes Gardens, Clementina, Isabella Grace, c. 1861

Sepia photograph, mounted on card, showing two young women dressed in white in an interior: one reading, the other standing.

Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham

From departmental notes

'Clementina, Lady Hawarden(Untitled) Photographic Study (or) Study from Life (D.292) c.1861 5 Princes Gardens, interior: first floor, front: left and centre windows (net curtains drawn back): floor-boards: Clementina, eyes down, seated, looking at open book on lap, and Isabella Grace, eyes down, standing, right hand on Clementina's shoulder. Reflection of Isabella Grace's skirt in window. Visible through centre window: balustrade; houses east side of Princes Gardens. 115 x 90 mm PH 457-1968:548 Series 49 Literature: Microfilm: 3.19.483 also: ed. Graham Ovenden, Clementina Lady Hawarden, 1974, p.33 (air-brushed). The Golden Age of British Photography (travelli exhibition), Victoria and Albert Museum, 1984-85. Here Lady Hawarden expresses her daughters' mutual devotion. The moment is held by their absorption in a book. The title is not known, nor are the contents of the Hawardens' library, but Lady Hawarden's uncle encouraged his nieces to read books 'chosen with a view to improving and strengthening the mind.' [Mountstuart Elphinstone to Anne Bontine, 15 July 1847. National Library of Scotland, MS 10288.] The title is not known, nor are the contents of the Hawardens' library, but Lady Hawarden's uncle encouraged his nieces to read books 'chosen with a view to improving and strengthening the mind.' [Mountstuart Elphinstone to Anne Bontine, 15 July 1847. National Library of Scotland, MS 10288.] read books 'chosen with a view to improving and strengthening the mind.' [Mountstuart Elphinstone to Anne Bontine, 15 July 1847. National Library of Scotland, MS 10288.]'

Reason For Production: Retail

Lady Hawarden perhaps photographed her children for the same reason as many parents today: to record the stages of growing up, to make the most of fleeting moments of relaxation and calm, to preserve youthful beauty and so on. She differed from most fond parental snapshot photographers, however, in devoting a floor of her house to photography - notice the bare boards of her studio. She employed a variety of cameras and formats, and used a highly complicated but up-to-date process (the wet collodion on glass negative). All this shows that she photographed very deliberately. She also exhibited the results at the Photographic Society of London, one of the most prestigious institutions of the day. Thus, this photograph has the attractions of a snapshot but it is taken to a higher than usual level of achievement.

457:548-1968