To mark the bi-centenary of Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron – who made her home in Freshwater Bay – the Victoria and Albert Museum is hosting an exhibition of her work.
The exhibition, featuring photographs from the museum’s own collection, opens to the public on Saturday (28th November) and runs until 21 February.
Preview of show
The BBC had a sneak preview and have written a wonderful piece about Julia, her early years, life on the Isle of Wight (at Dimbola Lodge, now named Dimbola Museum and Galleries) and her what influenced her art.
The article, by the BBC’s Picture editor, Phil Coomes, says,
“Cameron’s technique was criticised by some at the time, even calling her work “slovenly”. Poorly coated plates, thumbprints and other marks on the pictures all of which contributed to that analysis.
“Yet her search and belief in photography as an art form, rather than just a process, became her strength.”
Find out more
Head over to the BBC Website for more, it’s a great read and even if you’re a keen visitor to Dimbola, you might learn something you didn’t know about Julia.
Julia Margaret Cameron, supported by The Bern Schwatz Family Foundation, runs from 28 November – 21 February 2016.
Science Museum
If you do visit the V&A exhibition, try and pop into the Science Museum too.
They have Julia’s handwritten autobiography, her enormous lens (the only piece of her equipment known to have survived) and according to The Telegraph, an album she compiled in 1866 and given to her friend, the scientist and philosopher Sir John Herschel.
