Cameron,
Julia Margaret (1813-1879) was an amateur photographer who
made herself famous with her portraits of famous personalities
such as Charles Darwin (1809-1882), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1807-1882) and Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881).
Born in India of
English parents, she married a military officer and moved to the
tiny British Isle of Wright in 1860 when she was already 45 years
old.
When she was almost 50, she taught herself photography to
help pass the time.
She had gotten a camera in 1863 and equipped
it with huge 30 inch lens in order to make close-up portraits.
The exposure times were so long (often 2 minutes or more) that
her subjects moved a little giving her pictures a soft look.
She not only photographed Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), but
illustrated an edition of his famous Idylls of the King
(first edition 1859) with her photographs.
Impoverished, she
and her husband returned to India.
When she died at age 64, she
is reputed to have been whispering the work "beautiful."
Estimated basic value:
$7900
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