Fr: Sec: Spine of Echinus x. 40

Currently not on view

Fr: Sec: Spine of Echinus x. 40

c. 1887

Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853–1943)

Unlike many beginning photographers of the nineteenth century who experimented with straightforward portrait or landscape compositions, Evans's earliest trials with photography involved minute organic matter and required the use of a microscope. His complicated "photo-microgram" process allowed him to capture the intricate structures of objects including a water beetle's eye, tiny sea shells, and this section of a sea urchin's spine. Although classified as scientific rather than artistic imagery by the Photographic Society of Great Britain, this photo-microgram demonstrates Evans's ability to delineate the magnificence of organic patterns and presage his photographs that depict the structural beauty of cathedrals.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Fr: Sec: Spine of Echinus x. 40

Date:

c. 1887

Artist:

Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853–1943)

Medium:

Platinum print

Dimensions:

Image and sheet: 4 3/4 × 4 5/8 inches (12 × 11.8 cm) Mount (primary): 5 7/16 × 5 3/16 inches (13.8 × 13.2 cm) Mount (secondary): 5 1/2 × 5 1/4 inches (14 × 13.4 cm) Mount (tertiary): 6 3/4 × 6 1/4 inches (17.1 × 15.8 cm) Mount (quaternary): 6 15/16 × 6 7/16 inches (17.6 × 16.3 cm) Mount (quinary): 13 11/16 × 10 7/16 inches (34.7 × 26.5 cm)

Classification:

Photographs

Credit Line:

Purchased with funds contributed by Dorothy Norman, 1973

Accession Number:

1973-197-65

Geography:

Photograph taken in England, Europe

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Currently not on view