Collection Online as of December 1, 2023
Arch in Farmyard, Swansea
Calvert Richard Jones
(British, 1804–1877)
Salted paper print from calotype negative, gold-toned
Image: 23.2 x 18.7 cm (9 1/8 x 7 3/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1991.40
Location
not on view
Description
Educated as a mathematician, musician, and clergyman, Jones was an accomplished daguerreotypist before he was introduced to the calotype by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1845. Jones's pictures were taken primarily in Wales, England, Ireland, and the Mediterranean and often depicted complex compositions of ruins, landscape, and rustic architecture. To provide a sense of scale and human presence, he almost always included figures in his architectural views (here a lone individual leans against the archway). In this photograph Jones also alluded to the inevitable passage of time by contrasting the monumental arch in the foreground with the ruined arch in the distance.
Calvert Richard Jones
Reverend Calvert Richard Jones, Jr. British, b. Wales, 1804-1877
Calvert Jones was part of the circle of Welsh amateur photographers that emerged around John Dillwyn Llewelyn and were strongly influenced by William Henry Fox Talbot. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford, Jones returned to Wales in 1829 after his ordination to serve as rector of Loughor near his native town of Swansea. A man of varied interests, including mathematics, music, and painting, he was introduced to photography by Welsh members of Talbot's family.
In 1845, after lessons and practical experience in calotyping with Talbot in Britain, Jones embarked on a trip to Malta and Italy, during which he produced a number of views. On his return, he sent 22 small calotypes and 102 larger ones to Talbot, who sold them on commission. Jones's training in art, especially marine painting, lends his images considerable confidence of composition, tone, and scale. T.W.F.