Insight is our dedicated collections and research facility, and anyone is welcome to book a visit to study prints by some of the world’s greatest photographers or examine apparatus from our collection. We get requests from students, academics, museum professionals and members of the public.
In July, one of our visitors was Thomas Galifot, a curator at the Musée d’Orsay. He is researching and preparing an exhibition, scheduled to open in Paris in autumn 2014, focusing on women photographers from 1839–1945.
Thomas was keen to see work from this period with a view to borrowing items from our collection for the show. He viewed work by famous names, such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Anna Atkins and Gertrude Käsebier, but also some lesser known photographers such as the Nevill sisters, an aristocratic trio who showed their work at the 1854 exhibition of the Photographic Society in London.
Here’s a small selection from the hundreds of photographs Thomas viewed during his two days delving into the collection.
We don’t know yet which photographs will be shown in Paris, but I look forward to seeing the exhibition next year.
Rebecca..this is a wonderful post and a great way of highlighting your amazing collection..hope you can do follow up blog about other interesting visitors and future researched exhibitions and may also add an approx. date/decade for the Minna Keene image
Hello Terence. I’m very glad you liked the post (I’m fairly new to the blogosphere). Sorry I haven’t responded sooner – just organised my profile today to accompany the Fenton post. In answer to your comment, we don’t have a secure date for the Minna Keene image. The other Keenes in our collection range from 1904-1910 (where we have a date) so I have noted c.1908 as an indication. She’s also indicated in the RPS records from 1910-13. Best wishes