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[Carpenter and Apprentice]

Attributed to William Henry Fox Talbot British
ca. 1844
Not on view
Though lacking the absolute precision of the daguerreotype and later photographic processes, the paper negative admirably rendered blocks of tone, describing form and space in terms of shaded planes, a quality exploited here to enhance the highly geometric structure of the image. Even with the reduced exposure time of Talbot's calotype process instantaneous, or "stop-action," views were beyond the grasp of the nascent medium; instead, Talbot sometimes sought the illusion of spontaneity through staged scenes such as this one.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: [Carpenter and Apprentice]
  • Artist: Attributed to William Henry Fox Talbot (British, Dorset 1800–1877 Lacock)
  • Date: ca. 1844
  • Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
  • Dimensions: 15.5 x 14.9 cm (6 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. )
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.100.610
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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Scott Monument before Completion, Edinburgh, William Henry Fox Talbot British, Salted paper print from paper negative
Scott Monument before Completion, Edinburgh
William Henry Fox Talbot
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Sun Pictures in Scotland
William Henry Fox Talbot
1845
A Scene in a Library, William Henry Fox Talbot British, Salted paper print from paper negative
A Scene in a Library
William Henry Fox Talbot
before March 22, 1844
A Fruit Piece, William Henry Fox Talbot British, Salted paper print from paper negative
A Fruit Piece
William Henry Fox Talbot
before June 1845
Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, William Henry Fox Talbot British, Salted paper print from paper negative
Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire
William Henry Fox Talbot
before September 1844

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