A Newhaven Pilot's Cottage Door

1845

David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson

Associated Names
David Octavius Hill

Artist, Scottish, 1802 - 1870

Robert Adamson

Artist, Scottish, 1821 - 1848

The image shows a group of six people, five women and one man, posing in front of a textured wall. All individuals are displayed from head to toe. The man, second from the left, is standing with his arms crossed, wearing a dark suit, a top hat, and glasses. The women are dressed in simple, period-appropriate clothing with long skirts and blouses. Most have their hair covered with cloths or headscarves. The central seated woman has her chin resting on her hand, while another seated on the right seems to be holding something. The standing women have their arms on their hips or crossed. The setting seems to be outdoors, indicated by the dirt ground and the rough-textured wall behind them with a shadow cast upon it, suggesting bright lighting conditions.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    salted paper print

  • Credit Line

    Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    image/sheet: 14.8 × 20 cm (5 13/16 × 7 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1995.36.89


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

J. Dunbar, Esq., Dublin, Scotland; (Weston Gallery, Inc., Carmel, CA); David and Mary Robinson, Sausalito, CA, 1985; NGA purchase, 1995.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1986

  • 19th Century Photographs from the Collection of Mary and David Robinson, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1986.

1995

  • The First Century of Photography: New Acquisitions, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995.

Bibliography

1976

  • An Early Victorian Album. Edited by Colin Ford. New York, 1976, illus. p.160.

1981

  • Stevenson, Sara. David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson: Catalogue of their Calotypes Taken Between 1843 in the Collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Edinburgh,1981: repro. p.199.

1991

  • Stevenson, Sara. Hill and Adamson's The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1991, illus. pl.35.

Inscriptions

on mount, upper left in graphite: 23; on verso, by later hand, upper left in graphite: 9215 T [circled]

Wikidata ID

Q64146024

You may be interested in

Loading Results