Victorian Giants

Victorian Giants explores the remarkable contributions of Oscar Rejlander (1813-75), Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79), Lewis Carroll (1832-98), and Clementina Hawarden (1822-65) to Victorian era photography. These artists experimented with innovative approaches to picture making, shaping attitudes towards photography that have influenced artistic practice ever since. Discover in this beautiful book the images that transformed photography into a recognised form of art.

The concept of 'art photography' emerged almost as early as photography itself, but it wasn't until the 1850s that photographers began to claim fine-art status for their work. While debates about photography and its role occurred globally, it was in England, particularly through the works of Rejlander, Cameron, Carroll, and Hawarden, that the new art achieved its fullest expression.

These four artists—comprising a Swedish émigré with a mysterious past, a middle-aged Ceylonese expatriate, an Oxford academic and fantasy literature writer, and a Scottish countess—formed an unlikely yet influential school. Both Carroll and Cameron briefly studied under Rejlander, maintaining a lasting association centred around shared approaches to portraiture and narrative. Influenced by historical painting and working closely with the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, they bridged the gap between past and future art, standing as true giants in Victorian photography.

Cameron, Carroll, Hawarden, and Rejlander each produced some of the most spectacular images in history. Victorian Giants is divided into three main sections and brings together many of these works for the first time, drawing heavily from the National Portrait Gallery Collection. This selection is supplemented by key works from other collections worldwide. Of particular interest is an exploration of the roles of historical and contemporary painters in the burgeoning fine-art-photography movement.