The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Partridges (recto); L.D. Campbell's Tomb (verso)

c. 1861
Image: 23.9 x 19.3 cm (9 7/16 x 7 5/8 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)
Location: Not on view

Description

N. Baily carefully arranged a simple composition of two partridges hanging by a thin rope against a plain wood wall. Like many photographers in the 1850s and 60s, he was interested in displaying the camera’s ability to record in detail the variety of shapes and textures present in the still life. Little is known of Baily, a British amateur photographer. He was a member of the Amateur Photographic Association and participated in several of their album exchanges. Still lifes incorporating game, fowl, and fish were popular among amateur photographers during this period. Many members of the Amateur Photographic Association were gentlemen that formerly belonged to the British armed forces and would have participated in hunting as a pastime.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 90, 134
  • The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Partridges (recto); L.D. Campbell's Tomb (verso)|url=false|author=Captain N. Baily, John Hamilton Craigie|year=c. 1861|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.21