[Still Life with Books]
Attributed to William Notman Canadian, born Scotland
Not on view
Notman emigrated to Canada in 1856 and established a phenomenally successful photography practice in Montreal. Known for his studio portraits and stereographic views of Canadian cities and towns, he soon earned a reputation as the "dean" of Canadian photographers, establishing studios throughout Canada and in a dozen American cities. This charming still life is constructed from volumes comprising a typical late-nineteenth-century classical library and features, among many other books, John J. Owen's The Cyropaedia of Xenophon, Spiers and Surenne's French Pronouncing Dictionary (1879), and Ludwig Ramshorn's Latin Synonymes. The photograph is likely a retreat from the artist's daily grind: an intellectual self-portrait made for private delectation rather than commercial consumption.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
![[Still Life with Books], Attributed to William Notman (Canadian (born Scotland), 1826–1891), Albumen silver print from glass negative](/Rodan/dist/svg/rolling-0.9s-30px.svg)
