Rowing Home the Schoof-Stuff

Peter Henry Emerson British, born Cuba
1886
Not on view
Emerson immersed himself in the culture of East Anglia, featuring the marshy coastal region northeast of London in more than half a dozen photographically illustrated books during his ten-year photographic career. This print was included in his first publication, Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, made with Goodall, a painter. Emerson and Goodall drew their subjects from an examination—at once personal and anthropological—of the environment and daily rituals of rural East Anglian life. In keeping with his interest in naturalism, Emerson tried to simulate human vision by rendering his views slightly out of focus at the periphery. This use of selective focus subtly intensifies the isolation of a laborer resting on his way home from harvesting schoof-stuff, a coarse straw. The muted tonality of platinum printing further infuses the scene with a hushed reverence. By insisting on an impressionistic vision, Emerson cleared a path that would be followed by many modern photographers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Rowing Home the Schoof-Stuff
  • Artist: Peter Henry Emerson (British (born Cuba), 1856–1936)
  • Date: 1886
  • Medium: Platinum print from glass negative
  • Dimensions: Image: 13.8 x 27.9 cm (5 7/16 x 11 in.)
    Mount: 28.6 x 41 cm (11 1/4 x 16 1/8 in.)
    Sheet (Interleaving Plate Sheet): 28.2 x 40.8 cm (11 1/8 x 16 1/16 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Mrs. Walter Annenberg and The Annenberg Foundation Gift, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.100.726
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.