Julia Margaret Cameron, Pioneering Photographer

Julia Margaret Cameron, Portrait of Herschel, 1867 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Arts Monday’s Jane Raffan takes an in-depth look at the work of Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron in interviews with Isobel Parker Phillip, Assistant Curator of Photography, AGNSW.

Cameron (1815-1879) was one of the most important and innovative photographers of the 19th century. Criticised in her lifetime for her unconventional techniques, she is now celebrated as a pioneering portraitist.

The interviews explore her work and circle of influences – famous artists and poets, writers and scientific thinkers – many of whom became subjects/sitters, including friend and mentor, the artist G.F. Watts, whose letters have shed light on previously unacknowledged aspects of Cameron’s experimental approach.

Interview I

Interview II

Interview III