Julia Margaret Cameron (English, born in India, 1815-1879)
"Hypatia, Marie Spartali," 1867 or 1868
Albumen print from a wet collodion negative
31.9 x 24.8
The model here presents a very different appearance from many of Cameron’s other milkmaids and daughters of friends, perhaps because she herself was an artists’ model and an accomplished watercolorist. Marie Euphrosyne Spartali (1843‒1927) was the daughter of the Greek consul in London. A pupil of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown, she first exhibited at the Dudley Gallery, and in 1867, about the time of this photograph, she was admitted into the Royal Academy. Spartali married the American painter and photographer William James Stillman (1828‒1901) in 1871. Before posing for Cameron, she had modeled for Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, and Edward Burne-Jones.
Julia Margaret Cameron (English, born in India, 1815-1879)
"Circe" (Kate Keown), 1865
Albumen print
25.2 x 20.2 cm mounted on 32.5 x 27.6 cm paper
Signed, titled, numbered "2", annotated "Fr. Life" in ink, and embossed "Colnaghi" stamp, on mount
Cameron sought to record through the faces of her family and friends the qualities of innocence, wisdom, piety, or passion ascribed to great biblical, historical, and legendary figures. Cameron used a long exposure and shallow depth of field to give that slight sense of animation which merges the young girl, Kate Keown, with the mythic character Circe, seemingly bringing her into the viewer's presence in this fine print. In Greek mythology, Circe is a goddess of magic, the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, an Oceanid nymph. Renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs, Circe is exiled to the solitary island of Aeaea by her father Helios for killing her husband. Once there she lures sailors to the island, including the crew of Odysseus, transforming them into swine.
Julia Margaret Cameron (English, born in India, 1815-1879)
Sir J. F. W. Herschel, April 1867
Albumen print from a collodion negative
35.7 x 26.4 cm mounted on 43.1 x 32.3 cm paper
Signed, dated, and inscribed by the photographer “April 1867 From life not enlarged taken at Sir John Herschel’s own residence Collingwood by Julia Margaret Cameron” in ink on mount
Julia Margaret Cameron (English, born in India, 1815-1879)
"Alice", September 1872
Albumen print from a collodion negative
28.4 x 10.7 cm mounted on 58.5 x 46.5 cm card, ruled in gilt
Signed, titled and inscribed "From life / Registered Photograph Copyright" in ink with Colnaghi blindstamp on mount
Provenance
Christopher Wood, London; Daniel Wolf, 1997; Jan Leonard and Jerry Peil, Leonard Peil Collection
Literature
Julian Cox and Colin Ford, Julia Margaret Cameron, The Complete Photographs (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003) no. 361.
Larry J. Schaaf, Sun Pictures Catalogue Twenty, Julia Margaret Cameron (New York: Hans P. Kraus Jr. Inc., 2011) no. 19, pp. 48-49.
Julia Margaret Cameron (English, born in India, 1815-1879)
Sir J. F. W. Herschel, 1867
Albumen print from a collodion negative
33.4 x 26.1 cm mounted on 46.9 x 40.4 cm paper
Signed, titled and inscribed "From Life taken at his own residence. Collingwood April 1867" in ink on mount