19thC, stereoscopic; Hawarden C, D 332, 5 Princes Gardens, Clementina, Florence Elizabeth, c. 1861

Sepia photrograph, mounted on green card, of two young girls beside drawing back the curtains

Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham

From departmental notes

'Clementina, Lady Hawarden(Untitled) Photographic Study (or) Study from Life (D.332) c.1861 5 Princes Gardens, interior: first floor, rear: French windows (net curtain drawn back): carpet: Clementina, reclining on floor, and Florence Elizabeth, standing, holding curtain back. Visible through French windows: terrace; balustrade; backs of houses in Princes Gate. Inscription (verso): Elizabeth Maude (and) indecipherable word 94 x 148 mm (stereoscopic) PH 457-1968:608 Microfilm: 3.19.521; V&A Picture Library negat" e no. HG 207. Also: ed. Graham Ovenden, Clementina Lady Hawarden, 1974, p.29 (half). By using a stereoscopic camera, which offered the possibility of superior depth of field and the illusion of three­dimensional space, Lady Hawarden was able to emphasize the distance between the interior and the exterior, as in this photograph. French windows--the construction of which resembles that of a cage--separate the girls from the overcast sky and the rain-puddled terrace. Florence Elizabeth holds back the net curtain. Her action presents her sister to the spectator; her upright figure counterpoints Clementina's languid form. Their informally staged tableau recalls scenes of pastoral dalliance played not in a drawing room but sur l'herbe'

Reason For Production: Retail

Lady Hawarden has posed her daughters in a simple, modern-day tableau. It seems to be about the energetic gesture of drawing back the net curtains to let in the light. This suffuses the dress of the older sister, who sits on the studio floor. The figures are framed by the tall windows, the balcony and the distant houses.

457:608-1968