Group of Persons Selling Fruit and Flowers

Currently not on view

Group of Persons Selling Fruit and Flowers

1845

William Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800–1877) Possible collaborator Calvert Richard Jones (Welsh, 1802–1877) Probably Printed by Nicolaas Henneman (Dutch (active England), 1813–1898)

Talbot was one of the primary inventors of photography in 1839, using a paper support that produced a negative print capable of generating multiple positives. This photograph, made after years of experimentation and refinement, demonstrates one of the key qualities of this new art and an aspect that particularly excited Talbot: the ease of composing and making group portraits, heretofore one of the most arduous artistic undertakings. He lamented in 1845 that candid scenes were still impossible with photography; this engaging group, carefully arranged, is one of his finest efforts to capture the immediacy of life.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Group of Persons Selling Fruit and Flowers

Date:

1845

Artists:

William Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800–1877) Possible collaborator Calvert Richard Jones (Welsh, 1802–1877) Probably Printed by Nicolaas Henneman (Dutch (active England), 1813–1898)

Medium:

Salted paper print from a paper negative

Dimensions:

Image: 6 3/4 × 8 5/16 inches (17.1 × 21.1 cm) Sheet: 7 5/8 × 9 5/16 inches (19.4 × 23.7 cm)

Classification:

Photographs

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Robert A. Hauslohner Fund, 1967

Accession Number:

1967-48-4

Geography:

Photograph taken in Bath, England, Europe

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Currently not on view