Group Taking Tea at Lacock Abbey

William Henry Fox Talbot

August 17, 1843 · Salted paper print from paper negative · Photographs

Although Talbot’s groundbreaking calotype (paper negative) process allowed for more instantaneous image making, works such as this one nevertheless reflect the technical limitations of early photography. Here, he adapts painterly conventions to the new medium, staging a genre scene on his family estate. The stilted arrangement of figures—rigidly posed to produce a clear image—belies Talbot’s attempt to show action in progress. To achieve sufficient light exposure, he photographed the domestic tableau outdoors, arranging his subjects before a blank backdrop to create the illusion of interior space.

Artist

William Henry Fox Talbot

Date

August 17, 1843

Medium

Salted paper print from paper negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Bequest of Maurice B. Sendak, 2012