Sheep Going to Slaughter, Early Morning, Near the Caledonian Road, London

Don McCullin

1965 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

At the start of Don McCullin’s long career, he photographed street life in London, especially in the poorer parts of the city’s East End. Here, the artist composed a surprising study of a modern-day urban shepherd with his sheep on their way to slaughter at the Caledonian Market in the London Borough of Islington. Opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert, the slaughterhouse survived until just after McCullin made this photograph; two years later, in 1967, the neighborhood was redeveloped by the city into the Market Estate, a public housing development consisting of 271 apartments and maisonettes.

Artist

Don McCullin

Date

1965

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gift of Deborah and Jonathan Klein, 2022