Oscar G. Rejlander, Mary Constable and Her Brother (detail), 1866, albumen silver print, 16.8 x 22.1 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Purchase, Harriette and Noel Levine Gift, 2005 (2005.100.24), Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY
Oscar G. Rejlander: Artist Photographer
Explore early art photography through the work of the man who invented the genre.
Known to posterity as the father of art photography, Oscar Rejlander remains one of the medium’s unsung heroes. Although he collaborated with Charles Darwin, and influenced the work of both Julia Margaret Cameron and Lewis Carroll, this groundbreaking exhibition is the first major Rejlander retrospective ever produced.
Exploring Rejlander’s career as painter, photographer and experimental artist, the exhibition features some 140 works by Rejlander, from landscapes and portraits to allegories and witty commentaries on contemporary society.
Celebrating a man ahead of his time, Oscar G. Rejlander: Artist Photographer not only examines his artistic legacy, but also his ability to transform a technical medium into an important means of artistic expression.
Oscar G. Rejlander: Artist Photographer has been organized by the Canadian Photography Institute of the National Gallery of Canada.
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Date
Location
On Tour
March 12 – June 9, 2019
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
For many, Rejlander was regarded as something of an aberration, whose only contribution to the medium was an overly complicated and slightly risqué Victorian morality tale. Perhaps now, with time, we can see his contribution to the history of photography more clearly. Perhaps Rejlander, ever the joker, will have the last laugh.
– Lori Pauli, Curator of Photographs
Artwork
Oscar G. Rejlander, The Juggler, c. 1865, printed later, platinum print, 19.5 × 14.6 cm. The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund (RPS.2394-2017). Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Oscar G. Rejlander, The Juggler, c. 1865, printed later, platinum print, 19.5 × 14.6 cm. The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund (RPS.2394-2017). Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Oscar G. Rejlander, Enchanted by a Parrot [Mary Rejlander?], c. 1860, albumen silver print, approx. 50 × 30 cm (rounded top corners). William T. Hillman Collection, New York
Oscar G. Rejlander, Enchanted by a Parrot [Mary Rejlander?], c. 1860, albumen silver print, approx. 50 × 30 cm (rounded top corners). William T. Hillman Collection, New York
Oscar G. Rejlander, The Bachelor's Dream, c. 1860, albumen silver print, 13.9 x 19.6 cm. George Eastman Museum, Rochester. Purchase (1972.0249.0035). Courtesy of the George Eastman Museum
Oscar G. Rejlander, The Bachelor's Dream, c. 1860, albumen silver print, 13.9 x 19.6 cm. George Eastman Museum, Rochester. Purchase (1972.0249.0035). Courtesy of the George Eastman Museum
Attributed to Oscar G. Rejlander, [Landscape], c. 1855, salted paper print, 22.3 × 19.7 cm. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2014. Photo: NGC
Attributed to Oscar G. Rejlander, [Landscape], c. 1855, salted paper print, 22.3 × 19.7 cm. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2014. Photo: NGC
Oscar G. Rejlander, Night in Town (Poor Jo, Homeless), before 1862, printed after 1879 (pendant to Day in Town), carbon print, 20.3 × 15.7 cm. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 1993. Photo: NGC
Oscar G. Rejlander, Night in Town (Poor Jo, Homeless), before 1862, printed after 1879 (pendant to Day in Town), carbon print, 20.3 × 15.7 cm. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 1993. Photo: NGC
Oscar G. Rejlander, Two Ways of Life (Hope in Repentance), 1857, printed 1925, carbon print, 41.1 × 76.9 cm. The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund (RPS.1641-2017)
Oscar G. Rejlander, Two Ways of Life (Hope in Repentance), 1857, printed 1925, carbon print, 41.1 × 76.9 cm. The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund (RPS.1641-2017)
Oscar G. Rejlander, Study of Hands, 1856, albumen silver print, 14.8 × 17.6 cm (arched top). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2014. Photo: NGC
Oscar G. Rejlander, Study of Hands, 1856, albumen silver print, 14.8 × 17.6 cm (arched top). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2014. Photo: NGC
Oscar G. Rejlander, Mary Constable and Her Brother, 1866, albumen silver print, 16.8 x 22.1 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Purchase, Harriette and Noel Levine Gift, 2005 (2005.100.24). Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY
Oscar G. Rejlander, Mary Constable and Her Brother, 1866, albumen silver print, 16.8 x 22.1 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gilman Collection, Purchase, Harriette and Noel Levine Gift, 2005 (2005.100.24). Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY
Oscar G. Rejlander, Mr. Collett’s Return, 1841, black chalk, charcoal and white wash highlights on paper (backed), 92.8 × 74.4 cm. The Collection: Art and Archaeology in Lincolnshire (Usher Gallery, Lincoln) (LCNUG: 1927/166)
Oscar G. Rejlander, Mr. Collett’s Return, 1841, black chalk, charcoal and white wash highlights on paper (backed), 92.8 × 74.4 cm. The Collection: Art and Archaeology in Lincolnshire (Usher Gallery, Lincoln) (LCNUG: 1927/166)
I am now rich in photographs for I have found in London, Rejlander, who for years has had a passion for photographing all sorts of chance expressions exhibited on various occasions, especially by children, and taken instantaneously.
– Letter from Charles Darwin to James Crichton-Browne, April 7, 1871, Darwin Papers, Cambridge University Library
Did You Know?
The father of art photography is, in many respects, also the father of Photoshop. His carefully composited images were built up in multiple layers — in Rejlander’s case, a complex process involving glass wet-plate collodion negatives — combining different images in a way that is similar to how Photoshop artists work today. Here are five more things to know about Rejlander’s work and influence.
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The exhibition offers a rare look at some of Rejlander’s paintings, drawings and lithographs, reflecting his original career as a painter and portrait miniaturist. It wasn’t until the 1850s that he abandoned painting for photography, after marvelling at how well a photograph had captured the fold in a sleeve.
He experimented with albumen silver prints, carbon prints, and salted paper prints, all on view in the exhibition.
Although Rejlander did not invent combination printing — a process in which two more or more negatives are layered to produce a single image — he created more elaborate and more convincing composite photographs than any photographer before him.
Some of the genre painters of the late Victorian period, including Lawrence Alma-Tadema, purchased Rejlander’s photographs to use as drawing aids.
In 1863, Rejlander visited her on the Isle of Wight. In addition to teaching her photography, he is also credited with helping to shape her vision.
Oscar G. Rejlander, Self-portrait with Parrot, c. 1865, albumen silver print; album closed: 37.4 × 27.6 × 0.32 cm; album open: 37.4 × 52 × 15 cm. Sir Nicholas Mander Collection
Featured Video
Oscar Gustav Rejlander is best known for his work Two Ways of Life, a masterpiece for which he used over 32 different negatives. Learn more with Lori Pauli, Curator of Photographs.
Related Content
His early genre pictures […] were highly popular with the public and now provide a document of Victorian life from wash day to tea time.
– The Globe and Mail
Oscar G. Rejlander: Artist Photographer
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