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JULIA MARGARET CAMERON EARLY PIONEER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

FULL NAME: Julia Margaret Cameron

BORN: JUNE 11, 1815, CALCUTTA, INDIA

DIED: JANUARY 26, 1879, KALUTARA, SRI LANKA

NATIONALITY: BRITISH

Portrait of Julia Margaret Cameron from 1870, by Henry Herschel Hay Cameron

FROM SCIENCE TO ART

One of the most influential and innovative photographers of the 1800s, Julia Margaret Cameron was also a visionary. In the 19th century, photography was a new and developing science—a cutting-edge way to record a person or scene. Julia, however, used her portraits to elevate photography to an art form.

A camera similar to the type Margaret would have used late in her career

A LATE BLOOMER

The fourth of seven daughters, Julia could have disappeared as the middle child of a large family. But instead, she stood out as the most artistic and eccentric. Julia had an international upbringing: while her family was British, she was born in India, educated in France, and spent time in India, Sri Lanka, and Africa.

While in South Africa in 1836, Julia met John Herschel, the famous British astronomer. They became life-long friends, and a few years later he introduced her to photography. He would continue to advise her on technical matters until he died. (Remember, at the time, photography was still a very manual process involving chemistry and darkrooms.) Julia started her photography career relatively late in life, at the age of 48, when her daughter gave her a camera as a present.

Julia’s 1870 photograph, “Vivian and Merlin”—an illustration for poet Alfred Lord Tennyson’s work, “Idylls of Spring”

CAPTURING BEAUTY

Julia experimented with artistic uses for photography and was one of the first ever to do so. She is best known for her portraits, often close-ups of family, friends, and the celebrities from her social circle. Julia used her photographs to re-tell stories from myths and legends, including those of King Arthur. She wanted to capture beauty, and even the sitter’s soul, rather than simple reality. Julia’s style was very unusual: her photographs were intentionally out of focus, and she kept, or even added, scratches and marks in her work. Fellow photographers often thought her work was sloppy, but painters loved her style. Perhaps her work was simply ahead of its time, as she remains a huge inspiration to many modern photographers and other artists. Today, Julia’s work continues to be shown in exhibitions around the world, from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.