Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case XRP, Shelf 651

The Poem

Photograph
1943 (made)
Artist/Maker

Photograph by Rosalind Maingot, 'The Poem', 1943


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Poem (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Brief description
Photograph by Rosalind Maingot, 'The Poem', 1943
Dimensions
  • Height: 479mm
  • Width: 373mm
Gallery label
Making It Up: Photographic Fictions (2018) Marta Weiss After a career as an actress in Australia, Maingot married a British surgeon and became a photographer in London. Her output was varied, encompassing medical photography as well as costumed tableaux such as this one.
Credit line
The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.
Object history
Rosalind Maingot was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1894. Her career started as an actress in Australia, and she had small success with minor roles in plays, musicals and comedies. Maingot moved to Britain and in 1928 married the renowned abdominal surgeon Rodney H. Maingot (1893-1982). She found being a housewife boring and decided to take up photography, enrolling at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London. Maingot was committed from the start and converted rooms in her home into a studio and darkroom. She joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1932 and soon after was made an Associate (ARPS), and then a Fellow (FRPS) in 1940. Maingot was perhaps best known for her figure studies and costumed portraits. A clear influence in this work was her background in the theatre. She was highly praised for her execution of pose, texture, and lighting. Alongside studio portraiture Maingot developed a specialism in medical photography, sparked by her husband’s work as a surgeon. In 1946 Maingot founded the RPS Medical Group to encourage medical professionals to improve the quality of photography for teaching and research. Maingot produced lantern slides for her husband’s lectures and did copy photography of medical drawings for his publications.
Collection
Accession number
RPS.1251-2018

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 7, 2018
Record URL
Download as: JSON