A Winter's Sunrise

Series Title: Marsh Leaves

before 1891, published 1895

Peter Henry Emerson

(British, 1856–1936)

Culture

England

Medium

photogravure

Measurements

Image: 12.8 x 6.9 cm (5 1/16 x 2 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Roger J. Lerch in Memory of Carl J. Lerch and Winifred J. Lerch Endowment 2025.17

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

In 1886, the year after completing medical school, Peter Henry Emerson became a full-time photographer and published his first book of photographs.

Description

Marsh Leaves, in which this image appears, was Emerson’s last book of photographs. Published in 1895, it is generally considered his best and most influential body of work. He had moved from naturalism to a graphic style so radical that it sometimes verged on abstraction. This looser, more expressionistic, and emotional late style helped lay the groundwork for Pictorialist photography, which dominated fine art photography in the early 20th century.