Uniting prevously unpublished portraits wuth better-known works by David Wilkie Wynfield (1837-87), this intimate picture of nineteenth-century artistic London, published in conjunction with an exhibition at the National POrtrait Gallery, is the first devoted exclusively to Wynfield's photography, and illustrates his unique contribution to art.
Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery, London, 1839-1989
This exquisitely reproduced album, drawn from the National Portrait Gallery in London, features 150 prominent figures from Britain's past and present, marking the 150th anniversary of photography's invention. The collection offers an engaging survey of photography's evolution from early daguerreotypes, while presenting a fascinating pictorial Who's Who of British culture, spanning from Queen Victoria to Princess Diana. With a preface by Alan Fern, Director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., this volume showcases an unprecedented array of portraits. It includes major literary figures like Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, and T.S. Eliot; scientists such as Michael Faraday and Charles Darwin; influential thinkers like Bertrand Russell; political leaders including Winston Churchill; artists like James Whistler and David Hockney; and entertainment icons from Lillie Langtry to the Beatles. The photographers themselves are also highlighted, featuring masters such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Lewis Carroll, and Cecil Beaton. Each portrait is accompanied by informative commentary from Rogers, offering capsule biographies filled with amusing anecdotes, such as Florence Nightingale's humorous take on her own portrait. Ultimately, the book's true appeal lies in the experience of turning page after page, encountering figures from Britain's past, captured forever in time.
Printed in England for Her Majesty's Stationary Office by Ebenezer Baylis & Sons Ltd. Worcester in 1977