About this artwork

Emerson spent a year aboard his boat, The Maid of the Mist, sailing on the Norfolk Broads with his servant, Jim. This photograph appeared as a frontispiece to his 1893 book, 'On English Lagoons' which was an account of that journey. Emerson argued that it was the photographer's task to discover scenes of real beauty. It is difficult to help being drawn into the peacefulness of this image in a way that Emerson described as 'the true secret of happiness'.

Updated before 2020

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P. H. Emerson

P. H. Emerson