No. 10The 1800s
Victorian portrait photographyJulia Margaret Cameron
1815 – 1879 · United Kingdom
Got her first camera at 48 and broke all the rules on purpose.
All artistsVictorian portrait photography
Victorian portrait photographyJohn Herschel, 1867. Julia Margaret Cameron. Public domain · Source: Wikimedia Commons
Photography
Julia Margaret Cameron
1815 – 1879 · United Kingdom
Born in Calcutta, she started photographing in 1863 after a gift from her daughter. Her close-up, softly focused portraits of famous Victorians looked nothing like the studio photos of her time.
Know more on Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)Fact file
- Born
- 1815
- Died
- 1879
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Era
- The 1800s
- Style
- Victorian portrait photography
- Disciplines
- Photography
- Key work
- John Herschel (1867)
- Medium
- Albumen silver print
- Where to see it
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Curiosity!
DocumentedThe sitter here, the astronomer John Herschel, was a family friend who had first shown her photographs decades earlier.
What we know (and what we don’t)
- Documented
She began photography in 1863, aged 48.
- Documented
Critics complained about her blur, scratches and fingerprints; she kept them as part of her style.
Where to see her
On view right now
- On nowGroup show
Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry
Laing Art Gallery · Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
17 Oct 2026 – 13 Feb 2027
Official page for Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry (opens in a new tab)
Museums that own her work
- Victoria and Albert MuseumLondon, UK(opens in a new tab)
- J. Paul Getty MuseumLos Angeles, USA(opens in a new tab)
Owning isn’t always showing: works rotate, go into storage or travel on loan — check before you go.
Hunting for a show we missed?
Exhibition list last checked 25 Oct 2026.