Drawn by Light: Science Museum put on a Wonderful Show
EDITOR'S PICK: The first major exhibition of The Royal Photographic Society Collection highlights pioneering experiments and modern classics
Afghan Girl, Pakistan, 1984, Steve McCurry
It is bemusing as to why it has taken this long for a major exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society Collection to come to London – but here we are at the Science Museum, South Kensington. This astounding assortment of photography from the National Media Museum, Bradford first began when Prince Albert had the bright idea to suggest that the Society should record the rapid technical progress of photography. And we are so glad he did.
Drawn by Light is a treasure trove of megastar photographers and iconic images; from Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Henry Peach Robinson and Roger Fenton to contemporary offerings by Don McCullin, snapshots of Frank Sinatra by Terry O’Neill (1989) and Martin Parr’s glowering Badminton Horse Trials (c.1985). Steve McCurry’s recently acquired Afghan Girl (1984) is one of the most recognisable images in the show, with the piercing eyes of the young girl that graced the cover of National Geographic back in 1985.
Blowing our minds is Philippe Halsman’s Dali Atomicus (1948) where surrealist painter Salvador Dali, his furniture and even his cats inexplicably soar through the air. Similarly bizarre is his dazzling image of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor jumping gleefully in 1959. William and Kate: take note.
There are also some delightful contributions from lesser known artists. Take time to see Nazi Party supporter Erna Lendvai-Dircksen’s records of rural society and Lieutenant Colonel Mervyn O’Gorman’s title image, an iconic photograph of a young girl called Christina just before the outbreak of World War I. And of course, don’t forget London zoo’s resident hippo captured by Juan Carlos Maria Isidro (1852).
But the real coo is Nicéphore Niépce’s original heliographs. These fascinating pewter plates were the first experimental forms of photography and today only a dozen exist. You’ll also be astounded by Henry Fox Talbot's original 1835 Camera Lucida sketchbook, The Pencil of Nature.
While hugely varied, Curator Colin Harding explains that this photography exhibition celebrates the astounding achievements of all those ‘seduced by the possibilities of drawing with light’.
Drawn by Light is a treasure trove of megastar photographers and iconic images; from Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Henry Peach Robinson and Roger Fenton to contemporary offerings by Don McCullin, snapshots of Frank Sinatra by Terry O’Neill (1989) and Martin Parr’s glowering Badminton Horse Trials (c.1985). Steve McCurry’s recently acquired Afghan Girl (1984) is one of the most recognisable images in the show, with the piercing eyes of the young girl that graced the cover of National Geographic back in 1985.
Blowing our minds is Philippe Halsman’s Dali Atomicus (1948) where surrealist painter Salvador Dali, his furniture and even his cats inexplicably soar through the air. Similarly bizarre is his dazzling image of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor jumping gleefully in 1959. William and Kate: take note.
There are also some delightful contributions from lesser known artists. Take time to see Nazi Party supporter Erna Lendvai-Dircksen’s records of rural society and Lieutenant Colonel Mervyn O’Gorman’s title image, an iconic photograph of a young girl called Christina just before the outbreak of World War I. And of course, don’t forget London zoo’s resident hippo captured by Juan Carlos Maria Isidro (1852).
But the real coo is Nicéphore Niépce’s original heliographs. These fascinating pewter plates were the first experimental forms of photography and today only a dozen exist. You’ll also be astounded by Henry Fox Talbot's original 1835 Camera Lucida sketchbook, The Pencil of Nature.
While hugely varied, Curator Colin Harding explains that this photography exhibition celebrates the astounding achievements of all those ‘seduced by the possibilities of drawing with light’.
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