About this artwork

This is one of a number of calotypes showing James Nasmyth, the son of the painter Alexander Nasmyth and a close friend of David Octavius Hill, in a reflective mood. He was an engineer and invented the steam hammer and pile driver, which revolutionised industry and engineering work across the world. He took a keen interest in photography as he considered it ’a delightful means of educating the eye for artistic feeling, as well as educating the hands in delicate manipulation’.

Updated before 2020

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Robert Adamson

Robert Adamson