King Lear Alotting His Kingdom to His Three Daughters
The three Liddell sisters—Lorina, Elizabeth, and Alice—posed with the photographer’s husband playing the tragically deceived King Lear in one of Cameron’s few Shakespearean compositions. Goneril and Regan whisper false flattery in the aging king’s ear while the truly devoted but disinherited Cordelia—here unadorned and dressed in white—stands before him, an embodiment of disillusioned innocence.
Artwork Details
- Title: King Lear Alotting His Kingdom to His Three Daughters
- Artist: Julia Margaret Cameron (British (born India), Calcutta 1815–1879 Kalutara, Ceylon)
- Date: 1872
- Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
- Dimensions: Mount: 18 1/2 × 14 7/8 in. (47 × 37.8 cm)
Image: 13 1/8 × 11 1/16 in. (33.4 × 28.1 cm) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Bequest of Maurice B. Sendak, 2012
- Object Number: 2013.159.3
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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Julia Margaret Cameron
ca. 1865
Julia Margaret Cameron
1874
Julia Margaret Cameron
1874
Julia Margaret Cameron
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Julia Margaret Cameron
1874
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