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Sir Charles Augustus Murray, 1806 - 1895
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Sir Charles Augustus Murray, 1806 - 1895 about 1851
  • Scottish Art
This daguerreotype was taken at 107 Regent Street, where Claudet opened a neo-Renaissance 'Temple to Photography' in 1851. Sir Charles Augustus Murray travelled in America in the 1830s, joining a tribe of wandering Pawnees for some months. He fell in love with a young woman, living near Niagara, whose wealthy father was against their relationship. Murray declared his love obliquely in a romantic novel, which he published in 1844 and married Elsie Wadsworth after her father's death in 1849. In 1846, he was appointed Consul-general for Egypt and this photograph presumably includes servants he brought back to Britain.

Glossary Open

Daguerreotype

One of the first two effective photographic processes. A unique image on a silvered copper plate, sensitised by iodine, is exposed and then developed with mercury vapour. The surface of the daguerreotype is vulnerable and it is usually encased or framed.

Neo-Renaissance

A nineteenth century architectural and decorative arts style inspired by the Italian Renaissance and characterised by the use of pillars and classical motifs. Also called the Renaissance Revival.

Daguerreotype, Neo-Renaissance

Details

  • Acc. No. PGP 275.1
  • Medium Hand-tinted daguerreotype
  • Size 11.40 x 15.00 cm
  • Credit Presented by Mrs Elizabeth Murray 1991

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Scottish Art