Accession Number
1989/1.58

Title
Thomas Leverton Donaldson

Artist(s)

Object Creation Date
1847-1947

Medium & Support
photogravure on paper

Dimensions
9 in x 6 3/4 in (22.8 cm x 17.2 cm);14 5/16 in x 19 5/16 in (36.35 cm x 49.05 cm);6 13/16 in x 9 in (17.3 cm x 22.8 cm);4 1/2 in x 6 9/16 in (11.5 cm x 16.7 cm);7 3/8 in x 5 5/16 in (18.8 cm x 13.5 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
Printed in rich brown tones, this photogravure is a portrait of a older, seated man in a three piece suit. The man reclines on the armrest of his chair, his head turned to the side, eyes downcast and appearing to smile. The image seems to have been taken inside a domestic setting, as there is evidence of walls and architectural elements behind him. The man depicted is the Scottish architect, Thomas Leverton Donaldson. The photographers who originally created this image, David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, received instruction from William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of the calotype. Hill and Adamson enjoyed a deeply prolific collaboration together, which was tragically cut short by Hill’s premature death. In the five years they worked together, they produced a remarkable body of work that served to elevate perception of the newly invented process into an artistic medium. The calotype negative they produced was later used to create this photogravure.

Physical Description
This photograph is a portrait of an older, seated man in a three piece suit. He is looking to the side in an interior space.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Victorian
architects
clothed
males
men (male humans)
photogravures (prints)
portraits
seated
sitters