A Perfect Chemistry: Photographs by Hill & Adamson - Couverture rigide

Lyden, Anne M.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 191105404X ISBN 13 : 9781911054047

Editeur : National Galleries of Scotland, 2017

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

The chemistry celebrated here is the photographic process- calotypes achieved by complex, cumbersome, unpredictable methods of applying light-sensitive chemical solutions to paper- pioneered in Victorian Edinburgh, and also the partnership, from 1844-48, between two innovators: the engineer Robert Adamson and the painter David Octavius Hill. --Financial Times

The meeting of the two men resulted in the 'perfect chemistry' to which the title of this exhibition refers. Despite being 19 years apart in age and from wildly different backgrounds, they forged a partnership which would change the face of photography. For the next four-and-a-half years, until their collaboration was cut short by Adamson s death, they would work and live together, taking a fledgling invention and turning it into an art form.It's like being afforded a glimpse, at last, into Hill and Adamson s world, that place of endless ingenuity and ideas and hard work and it seems a robust sense of humour. It is, however, a brief glimpse: most of those moments remain outside the frame. --The Scotsman

Only four years after the invention of photography was announced to the world in 1839, two Scots had mastered the new medium and were producing works of breathtaking skill in extraordinary quantities.

A Perfect Chemistry explores the uniquely productive and influential partnership of David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and Robert Adamson (1821-1848), which lasted a few short years from 1843 until early 1848. These stunning images, which belie the almost unimaginable technical challenges faced by the duo, are arguably among the first examples of social documentary in the history of photography. --Fest

Présentation de l'éditeur

• The book accompanies an exhibition to be held at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh from 27 May to 1 October 2017 before touring internationally
• Sumptuous, high-quality, full-colour plates
• This is one of the world's most important collections of early photography
• Featuring numerous views of Edinburgh, its development and its inhabitants

This book highlights masterpieces from one of the most famous partnerships in the history of photography: Edinburgh duo David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson. Just four years after the new medium of photography was announced in 1839, the pair were producing highly skilled portraits of key members of Edinburgh society. Over the next four years, until Adamson's early death at the start of 1848, they created several thousand prints encompassing landscapes, architectural views, 'tableau vivant' from Scottish literature, photographic reproductions of notable works of art, portraiture, and more. As well as experimenting with this vast range of subjects, they are also pioneers. Their representations of Newhaven fisherfolk are arguably among the first instances of social documentary photography.

This beautiful new volume features an essay from Anne M. Lyden, International Photography Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, along with sumptuous colour photographs detailing around 100 masterpieces from the Galleries' vast collection of Hill and Adamson's photography.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: National Galleries of Scotland
• Date d'édition: 2017
• ISBN 10: 191105404X
• ISBN 13: 9781911054047
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 120