30 November 2001
to 3 February 2002

National Gallery
of Victoria on Russell
285 Russell Street, Melbourne

The photographs: Famous Men and Fair Women

To show the range of Cameron's photographic work, this exhibition has been presented in three discrete sections that encompass her major subject matter. This section includes many of Cameron's most celebrated portraits and takes its title from the first monograph on her work written by Roger Fry and her great niece, Virginia Woolf in 1926.

In common with her sisters, Cameron actively sought out the company of the most notable men and women of the period and her models included the great writer Alfred, Lord Tennyson and astronomer and scientist Sir John Herschel. She also commandeered members of her staff, her family and even strangers she found walking near her house to sit for her camera.

Cameron was especially drawn to photographing notable men of the period, hoping through her portraits to reveal something of the qualities that made them 'great'. The almost religious zeal with which she approached her creative task resulted in some remarkably expressive and direct photographs, most notably her portrait of her "beloved friend . . . Teacher and High Priest", Sir John Herschel. Cameron's approach here, as with many of her portraits, was simple: she reduced the background clutter and accessories often associated with portraits of the period, focusing instead on the head of the subject which fills the frame.

Introduction

The photographs

Famous Men and Fair Women

Idylls and Fancy Subjects

Madonnas and Angelic Children

The artist

Visiting the exhibition

Sappho (Mary Hillier), c. 1866

Mountain Nymph Sweet Liberty, 1866

Beatrice Cenci (May Prinsep), 1870

A study for the Cenci (Kate Keown), 1868

Zoe, 1870

Florence Fisher (After the manner of an old Italian picture), 1872

Haidie, 1872

Alethea (Alice Liddell), 1872

Head of Mrs Herbert Duckworth, 1872

Mrs Herbert Duckworth, 1872

Julia Duckworth, 1867

Mrs Herbert Fisher, 1868

The sisters, c. 1870

Mrs Ewen Cameron, c. 1874

Margaret, daughter of Charles Norman, c. 1874

Portrait of J. F. W. Herschel, 1867

Portrait of J. F. W. Herschel, 1867

Joachim, 1868

Portrait of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1867

Portrait of Henry Taylor (as Prospero), 1867

Portrait of Henry Taylor, 1864

Governor Eyre of Jamaica, c. 1868

Portrait of Professor Jowett, 1864

Charles Hay Cameron, 1864

Uncle Charlie (Charlie Hay Cameron), 1867

Henry Thoby Prinsep, 1865

Valentine Cameron Prinsep, c. 1870

The Honourable Frank Charteris, 1867

Portrait of Charles Lloyd Norman, c. 1874

Dejatch Alamayou, 1868