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Man at carpenter's bench, Dundrum

Clementina Hawarden

1860

photographic

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Man at carpenter's bench, Dundrum is a 1860 photographic by Clementina Hawarden, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Clementina Hawarden
When & what style?: 1860 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This photo shows a worker at a carpenter’s bench on an Irish estate around 1860. It’s by Clementina Hawarden, a British photographer active in the 1850s–60s. Photographs of workers were rare back then. Few photographers did big projects on labor. Hawarden focused on people on her husband’s Dundrum estate. Check out more of her work at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

A sepia photograph mounted on green card depicts a man wearing a white apron and a stovepipe hat standing at a carpenter's bench, surrounded by tools, planks, and a bucket. The image, likely taken between 1858 and 1861 at Dundrum House in County Tipperary, documents a worker on an Irish estate, though his exact role remains unidentified. The bright halation effect emanating from the apron dominates the composition. This photograph is one of few early photographic records of workers from the period.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Clementina Hawarden

Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, commonly known as Lady Clementina Hawarden, was a Scottish amateur portrait photographer of the Victorian era. She produced over 800 photographs mostly of her adolescent daughters.

See the richer artist page