4

ROGER FENTON, (British, 1819-1869), PORTRAIT STUDY, salt print from a collodion negative, 83/8 x ...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
ROGER FENTON, (British, 1819-1869), PORTRAIT STUDY, salt print from a collodion negative, 83/8 x ...
ROGER FENTON
(British, 1819-1869)
PORTRAIT STUDY
salt print from a collodion negative
83/8 x 65/8 in. (21.3 x 16.8 cm)
circa 1850s
ESTIMATE: $8,000-12,000
This print was originally mounted in the so-called "Grey Paper" album, broken and dispersed through numerous lots in several sales at Christie's South Kensington in the late 1970s. The album included many prints by Fenton, often the only known prints of unusual images, including cloud studies, a nude and images from his orientalist suite. It is understood that the album was most likely a personal compendium constituted by the photographer. This album included at least a couple of otherwise unrecorded portraits in a style that is immediately recognizable from the known portrait series. Fenton is widely recognized for his accomplishments in portraiture, though this appreciation is based on two specific projects: his extended series of studies of members of the Royal family and his portraits of protagonists in the Crimean War. Virtually no other portrait work is known. The present image is known only through this print, preserved in excellent state and providing a fascinating clue to an uncharted aspect of this versatile photographer's activity.