The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

James Nasmyth (1808-1890)

1843–1847

David Octavius Hill

(British, 1802–1870)

and Robert Adamson

(British, 1821–1848)
England, 19th century
salted paper print from calotype negative
Image: 19.7 x 14.6 cm (7 3/4 x 5 3/4 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1987.19
Location: Not on view

Description

Among the earliest photographers to explore both the artistic and societal possibilities of the portrait were the painter David Octavius Hill and engineer Robert Adamson, partners for just three years before Adamson’s death. Elizabeth Rigby,seen here at age 35, went on to marry Sir Charles Eastlake and, in 1857, to write one of the first histories of photography as a fine art. James Nasmyth, an engineer who developed the steam hammer, holds a compass. Hill and Adamson often shot outdoors because bright sunlight allowed shorter exposure times. They subordinated the background in shadow and bathed the important details of the face and finery in areas of light.
  • David Octavius Hill
    Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
    David Octavius Hill; Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1987." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (February 1988): 30-71. Mentioned: p. 67, no. 61; Reproduced: p. 57 25160017
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 195
  • Cheating Death: Portrait Photography’s First Half Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 22, 2016-February 5, 2017).
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
    Mendel Art Gallery, Sasaktoon, Canada, May 15 - June 21, 1987: "The Photographs of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson." Bell, Keith. The Photographs of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson (Saskatoon, Canada: Mendel Art Gallery, 1987), p. 50, no. 18, repr. p. 33. (Exhibition also held at Edmonton Art Gallery, Aug. 29-Oct. 15, 1987; Art Gallery of Ontario, Mar. 23-May 8, 1988)
  • {{cite web|title=James Nasmyth (1808-1890)|url=false|author=David Octavius Hill, Robert Adamson|year=1843–1847|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.19