Now You See Me

Hidden Figures in Early Photography

 

Famous names like Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) and William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) are rightly hailed as trailblazers of early photography.

But the headlines they made are far from the whole story.

Now You See Me explores some of the hidden figures in early photography whose pioneering achievements have been lost – or overlooked.

Discover the work of the women who:

 

Photographs of British Algae by Anna Atkins
Sir John Herschel by Julia Margaret Cameron
A Portrait Outdoors by Sarah Angelina Acland
Gardens at Warley Place, Essex by Ellen Willmott

printed the first book of photographs

broke the rules to create powerful art

led the way into colour

used photography to sow the seeds of ground-breaking garden design

 

Take a look at an iconic work by each pioneer and discover more about the story behind these groundbreaking images.

Basement Gallery