Edinburgh Ale: James Ballantine, Dr George Bell and David Octavius Hill
About this artwork
The skills involved in producing calotypes were not only of a technical nature. Hill’s sociability, humour and his capacity to gauge the sitters’ characters all played a crucial part in his photography. He is shown here on the right, apparently sharing a drink and a joke with James Ballantine and Dr George Bell. Bell, in the middle, was one of the commissioners of the Poor Law of 1845, which reformed poor relief in Scotland. Ballantine was a writer and stained-glass artist, and the son of an Edinburgh brewer. On the table are three glasses of ale. According to a contemporary account, Edinburgh ale was "a potent fluid, which almost glued the lips of the drinker together".
Updated before 2020
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artists:
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title:Edinburgh Ale: James Ballantine, Dr George Bell and David Octavius Hill
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date created:1843 - 1847
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materials:Salted paper print
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measurements:13.00 x 19.40 cm
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object type:
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accession number:PGP HA 435
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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...