Lady Eastlake

Category

Library Item

Item no

3410

Title

Lady Eastlake

Description

A seated woman with hairpins in her hair has one of her hands clutching her dress.

Artist / maker

Hill, David Octavius

Date

1845

Size

22 x 15.1 cm

Type

Salted paper print

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Lady Elizabeth Eastlake (nee Rigby) is the subject of several of Hill and Adamson's photographic portraits. She came to Edinburgh with her family in 1842, aged 32. She was by this stage a published journalist and author, and a keen artist. Her intellectual credentials afforded her access to the same social circles as D. O. Hill, and, prompted presumably by her interest in art, she agreed to sit for him. She left Edinburgh for London in 1849 following her marriage to Charles Lock Eastlake. Her involvement with 19th century photography did not end here however. Her husband became the first president of the Royal Photographic Society in 1853. She continued to write professionally, and in 1857 her article on the history of photography and its relationship with art was published in the Quarterly Review. A Hill and Adamson portrait of Lady Eastlake was amongst those shown in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and drew the attention of the future photography enthusiast Prince Albert.

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Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Hair ornaments

Clothing and dress > Garments > Dresses

People > Adults > Women

People > Education and communication > Scholars

People > Entertainment and sports > Authors

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