1844
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Elizabeth Rigby, later Lady Eastlake (1809-1893) is a 1844 by David Octavius Hill, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This photo shows Elizabeth Rigby, age 35, taken around 1844–45. David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson made it early in photography’s history. They shot outside to use natural light, which helped keep the poses short. Elizabeth later married Sir Charles Eastlake. In 1857 she wrote one of the first books calling photography an art form. Look up David Octavius Hill (British, 1802–1870) next.
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…
Read the full account in the museum source.
David Octavius Hill (20 May 1802 – 17 May 1870) was a Scottish painter, photographer and arts activist.
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