COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1996.11
AMICA Library Year:
1998
Object Type:
Photographs
Creator Name:
Carroll, Lewis
Creator Nationality:
European; British
Creator Role:
artist
Creator Dates/Places:
1832 - 1898
Biography:
Lewis Carroll (Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) British, 1832-1898Known primarily as the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872), the enigmatic Lewis Carroll was also a mathematician, poet, novelist, and photographer. A lifelong teacher and writer of children's books, it is perhaps no surprise to find the photography of children his principal focus. Born in Daresbury, Cheshire, and educated at Rugby and Oxford, Carroll lectured in mathematics for 25 years at the prestigious Christ Church College at Oxford. His best known photographic subject is probably the daughter of the dean of Christ Church, Alice Liddell, his model for the heroine of the Alice adventures. Carroll's photographic activity took place largely from 1856-80. At his death he left some 3,000 negatives, among them portraits and tableaux of children, along with portraits of various members of his cultured circle: Lord Tennyson, Ellen Terry, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Michael Faraday. Carroll'sfine images of children are noted for their exceptional combination of innocence and revelation, leaving many viewers guessing even to the present day as to his ultimate motives and intentions. T.W.F.
Gender:
M
Creator Name-CRT:
Lewis Carroll
Title:
Julia and Ethel Arnold
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
c. 1872
Creation Start Date:
1870
Creation End Date:
1874
Materials and Techniques:
albumen print from wet collodion negative
Classification Term:
Photography
Dimensions:
Image: 14.9cm x 12.5cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1996.11
Credit Line:
John L. Severance Fund
Inscriptions:
Scratched into negative: "48 [circled]"; "2045" [and another word or symbol - unclear]; written in pencil on verso: "Arnold"; in ink on verso: "2045"
Context:
Although Lewis Carroll is recognized primarily as the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), he was also a dedicated amateur photographer and one of the finest child photographers of the 19th century. Carroll's portraits recorded family, friends, artists, and especially young girls, such as the Arnold sisters, who were frequent visitors to his glass-enclosed studio at Oxford. Replacing the stiff gloom of conventional portraits with more natural poses and settings, Carroll entertained the children with storytelling to retain their interest during the long exposures.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1996.11.tif
