The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Elizabeth Rigby, later Lady Eastlake (1809-1893)

Elizabeth Rigby, later Lady Eastlake (1809-1893)

c. 1844–1845
(British, 1802–1870)
(British, 1821–1848)
England, 19th century
salted paper print from calotype negative
Image: 21.5 x 15.6 cm (8 7/16 x 6 1/8 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1987.16
Location: not on view

Description

Among the earliest photographers to explore both the artistic and societal possibilities of the portrait were the painter David Octavius Hill and engineer Robert Adamson, partners for just three years before Adamson’s death. Elizabeth Rigby,seen here at age 35, went on to marry Sir Charles Eastlake and, in 1857, to write one of the first histories of photography as a fine art. James Nasmyth, an engineer who developed the steam hammer, holds a compass. Hill and Adamson often shot outdoors because bright sunlight allowed shorter exposure times. They subordinated the background in shadow and bathed the important details of the face and finery in areas of light.
  • David Octavius Hill
    Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
    David Octavius Hill; Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1987." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (1988): 30-71. p. 67, no. 62 25160017
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Tom E. Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. [Cleveland, OH]: The Museum, 1996. p. 14-15
  • Cheating Death: Portrait Photography’s First Half Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 22, 2016-February 5, 2017).
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
    CMA, July 10 - August 19, 1990: "The Camera," Classroom Level, no exhibition catalogue.
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Elizabeth Rigby, later Lady Eastlake (1809-1893)|url=false|author=David Octavius Hill, Robert Adamson|year=c. 1844–1845|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.16