Exhibition dates: 15th February – 8th June, 2025

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Mr Finlay, deerstalker in the employ of Campbell of Islay [b]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20.1 x 13.6cm
Scottish National Gallery

 

This photograph shows Mr Finlay in Highland dress, possibly chosen by his employer. Although there is a rich history of tartan appearing in earlier portrait painting, Hill and Adamson were among the first to photograph this iconic Scottish fabric. The calotype process does not show colour, but it offered a means to capture the detail of the different styles of woven fabric. The differences in weave density and pattern between two tartans is clearly visible.

 

 

I have supplemented the meagre seven media images with other photographs from the Scottish National Gallery collection (public domain) which I have selected to further illustrate the fashion & textile theme of the exhibition.

Beautiful textiles, intricate fashion, beguiling portraits.

Taken within the first few years of the invention of photography, Hill & Adamson had a profound understanding of how the spirit of a person could be captured by the camera, clothed in working class attire, the robes of respectable society, or fantastical creations of their imagination.

Dr Marcus Bunyan

Many thankx to the National Galleries of Scotland for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

 

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Sir George Harvey, 1806 – 1876. Artist [a]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20 x 16cm
Scottish National Gallery
Elliot Collection, bequeathed 1950

 

George Harvey’s boldly patterned coat was likely selected to make this portrait of an artist appear exotic. In the final print this flamboyant garment draws our eye to the sitter, in contrast with the softly draping fabric background and the hard stone of the statue in the corner.

 

 

This small display highlights the remarkable skill of pioneering photographers Hill and Adamson in using this very new technology to showcase the fashions of the 1840s.

David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson were working in Edinburgh when photography was in its infancy. They used the calotype process, where a paper negative prepared with a salt solution is used to print a positive photograph. It created a much softer image than later photographs made with glass negatives, making it harder to capture detail.

Hill and Adamson depicted many Edinburgh residents during their partnership, from working men to society ladies. They often focused on people’s clothing to demonstrate what was unique about their lives and posed their sitters to highlight particularly interesting details. They embraced the technical challenge of photographing the varied textiles and fashions of the day. Still experimenting with the calotype process, they successfully show us the delicate pattern on a pair of lace gloves, the rough wool of tartans and tweeds and the sheen of silk.

Text from the National Galleries of Scotland website

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Lady Mary Hamilton (Campbell) Ruthven, 1789 – 1885. Wife of James, Lord Ruthven [a]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
19.8 x 15.3cm
Scottish National Gallery
Gift of Mrs. Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985

 

The subject of this photograph is Lady Ruthven but the focus is on her clothing. The pose, with her body angled diagonally away from the camera, allowed Hill and Adamson to capture how light fell on the different textures in her outfit. In both the negative and the final print, the intricate lace of her shawl is almost translucent draped over the delicate pattern of the dress below. This is one of the most technically accomplished photographs made by Hill and Adamson during their partnership.

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Mr Laing or Laine
1843
Salted paper print
19.6 x 14.3cm
Scottish National Gallery

 

The identity of the smartly dressed tennis player in this staged scene is uncertain and yet this calotype has become a popular picture postcard. Hill and Adamson are best remembered for the subtlety and perceptiveness of their photographic portraits but at times they showed a keenness for the representation of movement. Here movement is easy to detect in the blur of the racket and the man’s forearm. The player’s intense gaze furthermore suggests that a tennis ball just just gone out of the picture frame.

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Misses Binney
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20.4 x 14.6cm
Scottish National Gallery
Given by Miss Janet Notman

 

These photographs of the aristocratic Misses Binney have been carefully staged to highlight the rich and varied textiles in their outfits. The positioning in this photograph of Miss Binney’s lace-gloved hand on the dark fabric of her sister’s shawl enhances the contrast between the delicate pattern and her pale skin. This image demonstrates Hill and Adamson’s skill in capturing the unique qualities of lace, silk and satin.

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Jimmy Miller. Son of Professor James Miller [c]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20.5 x 14.3cm
Scottish National Gallery
Given by Miss Janet Notman

 

Jimmy Miller was the son of James Miller, a professor of surgery at the University of Edinburgh from 1842, and an advocate of the temperance movement. The family were supporters of and had taken part in the disruption of 1843 , where a group of 450 ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to establish the Free Church of Scotland. Jimmy was one of the few children to appear in Hill’s painting commemorating the event. Hill referred to him as ‘The Young Savage’.

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Mr Lane [called John Lane, Dr Lane and Edward William Lane] [a]
1843-1847
Materials: Salted paper print
19.8 x 14.5cm
Scottish National Gallery
Elliot Collection, bequeathed 1950

 

Although this sitter is named as Mr Lane, his identity and connection to India are uncertain. During their partnership, Hill and Adamson made a small number of portraits of sitters in South Asian national dress. Mr Lane has been posed to show the layering of different patterns and textures. His position also allows us to see the shape of his headdress, and the way the beads around his neck interact with the ornate fabric of his robe and the pale undershirt below.

 

More Hill & Adamson photographs showing fashion not in the display

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Mrs Anne (Palgrave) Rigby 1777 – 1872 [f]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
19 x 14.4cm
Scottish National Gallery
Elliot Collection, bequeathed 1950

 

Anne Rigby was the widowed wife of a doctor and had fourteen children. While living in Edinburgh in the 1840s, she and her daughters were photographed on a number of occasions by Hill and Adamson. This photograph bears a striking resemblance to Whistler’s famous portrait of his mother, which is not at all surprising given that the two ladies were friends. Mrs Whistler may have owned a copy of this calotype of Mrs Rigby.

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Mrs Kinloch. Of Park; nee Napier [b]
1843-1846
Salted paper print
20.9 x 15.4cm
Scottish National Gallery

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Lady Elizabeth (Rigby) Eastlake, 1809 – 1893. Writer [m]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20.8 x 15.7cm
Scottish National Gallery
Gift of Mrs. Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Mrs Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall [Newhaven]
1843 – 1847
Carbon print
19.80x 14.6cm
Scottish National Gallery
Edinburgh Photographic Society Collection, gifted 1987

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Miss Ellen and Miss Agnes Milne [Group 194]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
18.6 x 14cm
Scottish National Gallery
Edinburgh Photographic Society Collection, gifted 1987

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Rev. John Wilson, 1804 – 1875. Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bombay
1843-1847; printed later
Salted paper print
22.8 x 16.1cm
Scottish National Gallery
The MacKinnon Collection. Acquired jointly with the National Library of Scotland with assistance from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government and Art Fund

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Willie Liston, ‘Redding [cleaning or preparing] the line’; Newhaven fisherman [Newhaven 3]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20 x 14.1cm
Scottish National Gallery
Gift of Mrs. Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell, 1985

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Dr George Bell. Founder of ‘Ragged Schools’ [c]
1843-1847
Carbon print
21.3 x 16cm
Scottish National Gallery
Elliot Collection, bequeathed 1950

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Rev. Peter Jones or Kahkewaquonaby, 1802 – 1856. Indian chief and missionary in Canada [c]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20.2 x 14.6cm
Scottish National Gallery
Purchased from the estate of Sophia Finlay (Charles Finlay’s Trust), 1937

 

Born in Canada, Peter Jones’ father was a Welsh-born, American immigrant and his mother was of Ojibwa Indian ancestry. He grew up as a Native-American Indian with the name ‘Kahkewāquonāby’, meaning sacred waving feathers. Following his father’s wishes he was baptised by the Methodist church which led to his role as an Indian missionary. To fundraise he toured the United States and the United Kingdom, giving speeches and sermons to captivated audiences. He arrived in Edinburgh in July 1845 and this calotype is one of a series showing Jones in both Indian attire and western clothes. These are some of the oldest surviving photographs of a North American Indian.

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Lady Abercromby (or Hon Mrs Abercromby)
1843-1847
Carbon print
20.2 x 15.7cm (trimmed)
Scottish National Gallery
Elliot Collection, bequeathed 1950

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
Lane and Lewis in oriental dress
1843-1847
Salted paper print
20 x 14.2cm
Scottish National Gallery

 

 

David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802-1870)
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821-1848)
James Drummond, 1816 – 1877. History painter; curator of the National Gallery of Scotland [b]
1843-1847
Salted paper print
19.3 x 14.7cm

 

James Drummond was an accomplished artist and antiquarian, who specialised in history paintings. He studied at the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh and was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1852. Between 1848 and 1859 Drummond produced a series of pencil and wash drawings of closes, streets and buildings in Edinburgh. They were later published as lithographs in a folio volume entitled ‘Old Edinburgh’. In 1868 Drummond became curator of the Scottish National Gallery, a position he held until his death in 1877. An admirer of the new medium of photography, he was a member of the Photographic Society of Scotland and owned two albums of Hill and Adamson’s calotypes.

 

 

National Galleries of Scotland
The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

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National Galleries of Scotland website

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