'A Newhaven Pilot'
About this artwork
Hill and Adamson took this calotype in the fishing village of Newhaven, to the north of Edinburgh. According to its title, the photograph shows a ‘Newhaven pilot’ who is posing with his top hat in hand and his left arm resting on a boat. A pilot’s task was to guide the fishing boats through the shallow and dangerous coastal waters between the shore and the open sea, using his detailed knowledge of the tides, currents and depths of the area. A calotype of this title was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1845. However, this particular photograph was printed from the original negative in 1916 and was published by Andrew Elliot as part of a set of 49 photographs by Hill and Adamson.
Updated before 2020
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artists:
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title:'A Newhaven Pilot'
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date created:1916; original negative about 1845
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printed by:
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materials:Carbon print
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measurements:20.80 x 15.70 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Transferred from the National Gallery of Scotland Library 1980s
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accession number:PGP HA 330
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subject:
David Octavius Hill
David Octavius Hill
A painter and a lithographer by training, David Octavius Hill is best remembered for the beauty of the calotypes he and Robert Adamson produced together. Hill was a sociable and kind-hearted man who did much to support the arts in Scotland and between 1830 and 1836 he was the unpaid Secretary of...