About this artwork
Fred Bremner spent forty years in India, during which time he witnessed a huge transformation in the landscape. The nineteenth century saw vast British Imperial expansion and photographers were perfectly placed to document this process. Bremner produced several photographs, often as commissions, which captured the subcontinent as it was changing. He wrote: "Since my arrival in India in the year 1882 the great Empire has passed through many changes ... I have seen railways extending from hundreds to thousands of miles to carry the millions of people as well as great produce of the country... By whom has this been done? Obviously there can only be one answer – the Political Services of Great Britain and Ireland and British Engineers". However, Bremner’s comments do not acknowledge the thousands of Indian workers without whom the work could not have been achieved and the exclusion of Indian investors to the profitable enterprise.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Fred Bremner (1863 - 1941) Scottish
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title:Railway tunnel, Punjab
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date created:About 1902
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materials:Platinum/palladium print
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measurements:25.20 x 30.20 cm (image size 24.50 x 29.40 cm)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1987
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accession number:PGP 129.33
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gallery:
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subject:
Fred Bremner
Fred Bremner
Fred Bremner, the son of a professional photographer in Banff, travelled to India in 1882 and worked there for nearly forty years. He moved all the time, covering vast distances to photograph colonial officers and their families as well as members of the native aristocracy. Bremner was fascinated...