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The Moon

Printer Robert Howlett British
ca. 1858
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
By photographing the moon twice, a few hours apart on the same evening, De La Rue mimicked a stereoscopic effect that would otherwise require a specially designed bifocal camera. He hoped this three-dimensional view would help astronomers determine whether geological changes were still actively occurring on the satellite—a hot topic among scientists then debating whether its craters had been formed through volcanic activity or meteoric impact.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Moon
  • Artist: Warren de la Rue (British, Guernsey Island 1815–1889 London)
  • Printer: Robert Howlett (British, 1831–1858)
  • Date: ca. 1858
  • Medium: Albumen silver transparencies on glass; stereograph
  • Dimensions: 3 1/4 × 6 13/16 in. (8.3 × 17.3 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Hans P. Kraus Jr. Inc., New York
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs