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Photograph

1887 (made)
Artist/Maker

Object Type
This sequence of photographs is one plate out of 781 that form Eadweard Muybridge's series Animal Locomotion , published by the University of Pennsylvania, USA, in 1887.

Ownership & Use
The South Kensington Museum (later the V&A) subscribed to Animal Locomotion at the time it was produced. Subscribers guaranteed an initial number of sales of an expensive work, thus ensuring that a publication was viable before production began. They included scientists and artists, as well as museums.

People
Eadweard Muybridge was the name adopted by the photographer Edward James Muggeridge (1830-1904). He was of British origin but lived and worked mostly in California, USA. He was already well known for his landscape views of the American West before making his famous series Animal Locomotion . He is also remembered today for his eventful personal life: in 1874 he shot dead the lover of his wife, was arrested, charged, imprisoned, brought to trial and finally acquitted.

Materials & Making
Exposures were made in rapid succession by means of threads attached to cameras placed about half a meter apart. The camera shutter was activated when the horse broke the thread while going past.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Photograph by Eadweard Muybridge, Woman jumping a hurdle (from Animal Locomotion), collotype, 1887
Dimensions
  • Sheet length: 32.7cm
  • Sheet width: 26cm
Gallery label
Gallery 100, 2016-17:

Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904)
‘Man Performing Acrobatics’, ‘Woman Jumping a Hurdle’, ‘Man Performing Contortions’, ‘Infantile Paralysis’
From the series ‘Animal Locomotion’
1887

Eadweard Muybridge became known for his split-second studies of the motion of animals and humans. He developed a technique involving 12 cameras to capture each stage of his subjects’ movement, anticipating the invention of cinema. Muybridge’s systematic images include bodies pushed to extremes, either through necessity or choice.

Collotypes
Museum nos. Ph.1026, 669, 1024, 1053-1889
Summary
Object Type
This sequence of photographs is one plate out of 781 that form Eadweard Muybridge's series Animal Locomotion , published by the University of Pennsylvania, USA, in 1887.

Ownership & Use
The South Kensington Museum (later the V&A) subscribed to Animal Locomotion at the time it was produced. Subscribers guaranteed an initial number of sales of an expensive work, thus ensuring that a publication was viable before production began. They included scientists and artists, as well as museums.

People
Eadweard Muybridge was the name adopted by the photographer Edward James Muggeridge (1830-1904). He was of British origin but lived and worked mostly in California, USA. He was already well known for his landscape views of the American West before making his famous series Animal Locomotion . He is also remembered today for his eventful personal life: in 1874 he shot dead the lover of his wife, was arrested, charged, imprisoned, brought to trial and finally acquitted.

Materials & Making
Exposures were made in rapid succession by means of threads attached to cameras placed about half a meter apart. The camera shutter was activated when the horse broke the thread while going past.
Collection
Accession number
PH.669-1889

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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