Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 33H, Box XVI

Clementina Maude, 5 Princes Gardens

Photograph
ca. 1862-1863 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This photograph gives a good idea of Lady Hawarden’s studio and the way she used it. It was situated on the second floor of her house at 5 Princes Gardens in the South Kensington area of London. Here her daughter Clementina poses beside a mirror. A movable screen has been placed behind it, across the opening into the next room. A side table at the left balances a desk at the right. The figure of the young girl is partially balanced and echoed by the camera reflected in the mirror and the embroidery resting on the table beside it.

Hawarden appears to have worked with seven different cameras. The one seen in the mirror is the largest. Possibly there is a slight suggestion of a hand in the act of removing and/or replacing the lens cap to begin and end the exposure.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Clementina Maude, 5 Princes Gardens (assigned by artist)
  • Photographic Study (series title)
Materials and techniques
Photograph
Brief description
Lady Hawarden, 'Clementina Maude, 5 Princes Gardens', photograph.
Physical description
Sepia photograph, mounted on green card, of a young woman posing beside a miror in which a camera is reflected.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.6cm
  • Width: 23.2cm
Style
Production typeUnlimited edition
Gallery label
Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822–65) Photographic Study 1862–63 Lady Hawarden, a noted amateur photographer of the 1860s, frequently photographed her children. Here, her second-eldest daughter Clementina Maude poses next to a mirror, in which a bulky camera is reflected. The camera seems to stand in for the photographer, making this a mother-daughter portrait of sorts. Albumen print Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham Museum no. 296-1947(23/7/2016-5/3/2017)
Credit line
Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham
Historical context
From departmental notes

'Clementina, Lady Hawarden (Untitled) Photographic Study (or) Study from Life (D.559) c.1862-c.1863 5 Princes Gardens, interior: first floor, front: starred wall-paper: floor-boards: Clementina, standing, right elbow on cheval-glass (which reflects camera on tripod, and window and balustrade behind her), right hand on temple, left hand on cheval-glass frame. French-style side-table; three-legged table, on which are carpet-bag, needlework and hat; Gothic-style desk. Inscription (verso): No.5. Inscriptions (verso of mount): X614-5 (and) PC 33 ( 1 ) 216 x 232 mm PH 296-1947 Series 109 Literature: Microfilm: 3.18.6 People in Camera, National Portrait Gallery, 19 This photograph shows the basic furnishings of Lady Hawarden's drawing-room-cum-studio, including a moveable screen placed across the opening to the next room. Except for the faint suggestion of a disembodied hand in the act of removing and replacing the lens cap, there is no sign of Lady Hawarden in the mirror. However, her camera--possibly the same one shown in Ph 457-1968:335 (D.303) and Ph 457-1968:524 (D.304)--and its substantial tripod are reflected.'
Production
Reason For Production: Exhibition
Reason For Production: Retail
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
This photograph gives a good idea of Lady Hawarden’s studio and the way she used it. It was situated on the second floor of her house at 5 Princes Gardens in the South Kensington area of London. Here her daughter Clementina poses beside a mirror. A movable screen has been placed behind it, across the opening into the next room. A side table at the left balances a desk at the right. The figure of the young girl is partially balanced and echoed by the camera reflected in the mirror and the embroidery resting on the table beside it.

Hawarden appears to have worked with seven different cameras. The one seen in the mirror is the largest. Possibly there is a slight suggestion of a hand in the act of removing and/or replacing the lens cap to begin and end the exposure.
Bibliographic reference
Female Trouble. Die Kamera als Spiegel und Bühne weiblicher Inszenierungen Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2008. ISBN: 978-3-7757-2203-2.
Collection
Accession number
296-1947

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Record createdFebruary 17, 2004
Record URL
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