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The Art of Fashion
19th & Early 20th Century origins, 6 November 2023

The Art of Fashion: 19th & Early 20th Century origins

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  • # The Art of Fashion

    Part I: Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century origins

    Our first Room with a View presents rare and beautiful examples of albumen prints, photogravures and silver gelatin prints. Coinciding with The Fashion Show at the gallery, this is the first in a series dedicated to the art of fashion from the 19th - 21st century. Taking a closer look at the origins and purpose of early masters, leading directly to the current pages of our fashion magazines, as well as the contemporary market for fine art photography.


    Click on each image to see prices, framing options, and view each work on a wall - or use the augmented reality option to view on your wall at home.

    Works under $10,000 are available to ‘buy now’ or use the enquiry buttons if you have any questions about works in the group.



    We look forward to hearing from you!

  • THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #148 Unknown Japanese Women, c. 1870's 'To collect photographs is to collect the world.' ~ Susan...

    THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #148

    Unknown Japanese Women, c. 1870's

    "To collect photographs is to collect the world."

     

    ~ Susan Sontag 'On Photography'

    Since my earliest days of collecting I have had, and still retain, a great passion for 19th-century travel photography. I am motivated by a visual wanderlust and a keen desire to learn more about other countries, cultures and their peoples. This gateway to explore unseen destinations was given to me via an amazing group of photographers, many of them unnamed and unknown. Undeterred by the rigour and hardship of travel at that time, and often burdened by the unwieldy and cumbersome photographic equipment of the past, they would set forth across the globe in search of adventure and discovery.

     

    These intrepid explorers included diplomats, soldiers, scientists and missionaries. The order of research usually followed a pattern that started with recording the landscape, the archaeological sites, the famous architectural monuments and then, finally, turning their lenses to the people of that area. Here is an example of a photographer revealing the intricacies of a cultural fashion, offering us a heightened aura of mystery by capturing the subjects from behind. While it was more than a century ago and far from where I live, I feel like I am standing in this room, learning all I can about this world.

    Enquire
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    • THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #122 Baron von Stillfried (Czech Republic, b. 1839-1911) Wind Costume (Rain Girl), c. 1875 "Is it love or fancy, I cannot tell you. All that I know is, She, with her innocent charm has entranced me. Almost transparently fragile and slender, Dainty in stature, quaint little figure, Seems to have stepped down straight from a screen. ~ Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, Madame Butterfly. 1904. During the 1870's, the Austrian born Baron Von Stillfried was one of the leading foreign photographers in Yokohama, a primary port for trade and tourism. This is an interesting studio composition where the scratches in the negative simulate rain and the impression of wind is created by means of the geisha's kimono being pinned against the studio backdrop.

      THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #122

      Baron von Stillfried (Czech Republic, b. 1839-1911) Wind Costume (Rain Girl), c. 1875

      "Is it love or fancy,
      I cannot tell you.
      All that I know is,
      She, with her innocent charm
      has entranced me.
      Almost transparently fragile and slender,
      Dainty in stature, quaint little figure,
      Seems to have stepped down
      straight from a screen.

      ~ Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, Madame Butterfly. 1904. 

      During the 1870's, the Austrian born Baron Von Stillfried was one of the leading foreign photographers in Yokohama, a primary port for trade and tourism.

      This is an interesting studio composition where the scratches in the negative simulate rain and the impression of wind is created by means of the geisha's kimono being pinned against the studio backdrop.

      Enquire
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  • The Power of Photography #143 Edward Curtis (United States, b. 1868-1952) At the Old Well of Acoma, 1904 'The passing...

    The Power of Photography #143

    Edward Curtis (United States, b. 1868-1952) At the Old Well of Acoma, 1904

    "The passing of every old man or woman means the passing of some tradition, some knowledge of sacred rites possessed by no other…consequently the information that be gathered, for the benefit of future generations, respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost for all time."

    ~ Edward Sheriff Curtis
    This is one of Curtis's most magical images. These young women are pictured collecting water on the rock of Acoma using beautiful earthen vases. The contrast of the soft ripples and the harsh and dominating rocks makes for a beautiful juxtaposition.  Edward Curtis, apart from being a truly great photographer, is also one of the most remarkable and colorful personalities in the history of photography. Completely driven in his passion to record and document a way of life he knew was about to disappear he endured such personal and financial hardship to fulfill his vision. It took him 30 years to complete the project with many missteps and disappointments along the way that cost him his marriage and health. But the end result is exceptional and his legacy is secure. He captured his subjects with such reverence and respect and showed us their humanity.

    This is a particular favorite of mine, one Acoma girl quietly sitting on a rock watching as her friend or family member fills a pottery vessel with water from a pool. What can be a more simple vista for an image, but it is filled with so many other levels of meaning for a way of life soon to be transformed.
    Enquire
    %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3EEdward%20Curtis%20%28United%20States%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3Eb.%201868-1952%29%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EAt%20the%20Old%20Well%20of%20Acoma%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E1904%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EVintage%20Gelatin%20Silver%20Print%3Cbr/%3E%0APaper%2010%201/2%20x%2012%20inches%3B%20Image%205%209/16%20x%207%209/16%20inches%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3Cbr/%3E%0A%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E15%203/8%20x%2016%207/8%20inches%3Cbr/%3E%0A39.1%20x%2042.9%20cm%3C/div%3E
  • Closer to home in Europe and America, narrative and allegory were explored through costume and scenery, as a way to embody the emotional lives of particular sitters, and their position and role in society - or to represent classical, literary and artistic ideals.

  • Julia Margaret Cameron (British, b. 1815-1879), Saint Family (Rosie Prince, Mary Hillier and Freddy Gould) , 1872
    Artworks

    Julia Margaret Cameron (British, b. 1815-1879)

    Saint Family (Rosie Prince, Mary Hillier and Freddy Gould) , 1872

    ‘I longed to arrest all beauty that came before me and at length the longing has been satisfied.’

    ~Julia Margaret Cameron

    Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 – 79) was an ambitious and devoted pioneer of photography. Best known for her powerful portraits, she also posed her sitters – friends, family and servants – as characters from biblical, historical or allegorical stories. She was visionary in her belief of the ‘divine’ power of the medium, daring in her experiments with image making and persistent in the promotion of her work. Her photographs broke the rules: they were intentionally out of focus and often included scratches, smudges and other traces of her process. (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

     

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    %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3EJulia%20Margaret%20Cameron%20%28British%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3Eb.%201815-1879%29%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3ESaint%20Family%20%28Rosie%20Prince%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3EMary%20Hillier%20and%20Freddy%20Gould%29%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22comma%22%3E%2C%20%3C/span%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E1872%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EVintage%20albumen%20print%3Cbr/%3E%0APaper%2010.5%20x%2013.5%20inches%2C%3Cbr/%3E%0AMat%2016%20x%2020%20inches%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E14%20x%2011%20inches%3Cbr/%3E%0A35.6%20x%2027.9%20cm%3C/div%3E
  • Frank Eugene, (American, 1865 - 1936), Minuet, 1910 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Eva Watson - Schutze (American, 1867-1935), Portrait of Jane Byrd Whitehead, c. 1903 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Constant Puyo (French, 1857-1933), The Straw Hat, 1906 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    George H. Seeley (United States, b. 1880-1955), The Firefly, 1907 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Joseph Keiley, Portrait- Miss De C., 1907 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Baron Adolf De Meyer (France, 1868-1949), Mary Pickford in her Wedding Dress, 1920 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Frank Eugene, (American, 1865 - 1936), Minuet, 1910
  • As the industrial revolution gathered pace across the world, influential British photographer Peter Henry Emerson also found inspiration closer to home, immersing himself in the life and traditional practices of East Anglia.

    While by no means the first photographer to elevate a simple, rural life as an ideal, it's interesting to note that tourists were already flocking to the area at that time, to escape the increasingly gritty, urban experience - a desire that has resonated and continued through the centuries.
  • P.H. Emerson (1856-1936), Rowing Home the Schoof-Stuff, Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1886 / Printed 1886 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    P.H. Emerson (1856-1936), The Old Order & The New (View more details about this item in a popup).
    P.H. Emerson (1856-1936), The Fringe of the Marsh, from Life and Landscape (View more details about this item in a popup).

    P.H. Emerson (1856-1936), Rowing Home the Schoof-Stuff, Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, 1886 / Printed 1886

  • Emerson was extremely vocal and active in prominent debates about Art, Photography and Pictorialism that continued for over three decades through to the 1920's and 1930's. The often conflicting views of key figures in Pictorialism in Great Britain united to promote photography as a fine art in 1892, with the formation of the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring. As photography, travel and transport became more accessible, their letters, images and journals could be exchanged in much wider circles, across the globe. In late 1894 Alfred Stieglitz was elected as one of the first two American members of the Linked Ring, and the Photo Secession movement was formed and led in New York by Stieglitz and fellow photographer Eduard Steichen in 1902.
  • Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864- 1946) The Steerage, 1907 “For that is the power of the camera: seize the familiar and...

    Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864- 1946)

    The Steerage, 1907
    “For that is the power of the camera: seize the familiar and give it new meanings, a special significance by the mark of a personality.”

    ~ Alfred Stieglitz

    Of course, “The Steerage” is one of the most celebrated images in the history of photography, by one of the most significant figures in the medium. Celebrated for good reason as its genius graphic construction and human empathy is utterly timeless.

  • These two strands of influence thread through into the pages of the first journal dedicated solely to fine art photography - Camera Work, published between 1903 and 1917 by Alfred Stieglitz. The photogravures in Camera Work were painstakingly constructed with Japanese tissues and hand-tipped mounts, to suit the aesthetics and mood of each print. The soft, rich tones are unrivalled in their understated beauty and presence, and remain some of the finest and most accessible examples from this important era.
  • THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #617 Eduard SteicheN, (United States, b. 1879 - 1973)In Memoriam, 1906 “A photograph must represent, partake,...

    THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #617

    Eduard SteicheN, (United States, b. 1879 - 1973)In Memoriam, 1906

    “A photograph must represent, partake, suggest or reflect the object photographed, but it is not a work of art because it does either or all of these, it must be alive and as a photograph have an existence of its own.”

    ~ Eduard Steichen

    This is one of Steichen’s early masterpieces and one of his most important images. It also greatly impressed the hard-to-please Alfred Stieglitz who was keen to include it in his hugely important publication Camera Work. Originally trained as a painter, Steichen embraced the soft focus, atmospheric tenets of pictorialism with its dreamlike and mysterious moods. The image is alive and haunting. A nude female figure seated, one knee raised and leaning to the left with her right arm extended across her body slowly envelopes us. The subject's face is obscured as it is shrouded in shadow and we are completely seduced as we are brought into her world.
  • THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #625 Alfred Stieglitz (American 1864-1946) and Clarence H White (American 1871-1925) Torso , 1907 'Wherever there...

    THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY #625

    Alfred Stieglitz (American 1864-1946) and Clarence H White (American 1871-1925) Torso , 1907

    "Wherever there is light one can photograph."
    ~ Alfred Stieglitz

    Surely this is one of the most beautiful female nudes in the history of photography. Sensual and subtle, it was the result of a special unique collaboration between two great masters at the turn of the century. Who actually did what has always been a matter of conjecture. But does it really matter? I don't think so. The result speaks for itself. Stieglitz had a very domineering personality and White was known to be a quiet type. Maybe Stieglitz took control of the session but was open to White's suggestions as the session progressed. Oh to have been a fly on the wall that day. The subject provocatively raises her arms but modestly turns her head and closes her eyes.

    It is just breathtaking and the nuances of the print and the delicacy of the mood they created are unparalleled.
  • George H. Seeley (United States, b. 1880-1955), The Burning of Rome, 1907 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Frank Eugene, (American, 1865 - 1936), Adam and Eve, 1910 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Heinrich Kühn, Portrait - The Mirror, 1911 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Heinrich Kühn, Windblown, 1911 (View more details about this item in a popup).
    George H. Seeley (United States, b. 1880-1955), The Burning of Rome, 1907
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