Photography Pioneer
Roger Fenton By Margaret Brecknell The son of a wealthy Lancashire businessman, Roger Fenton is regarded as one of the key figures in the early history of photography, even though his career as a photographer lasted little more than a decade.
R
oger Fenton was born at the family home of Crimble Hall, near Rochdale, on 28th March 1819. As well as his business interests, Fenton’s father, John, was also Rochdale’s first MP. After graduating from the University of London in 1840, Fenton Junior looked set to pursue a career in the law. However, his real passion in life was art. In the early 1840s, he travelled to Paris to pursue his artistic ambitions. Here, he met some of the leading French artists of the day including Paul Delaroche. It may well have been Delaroche who introduced Fenton to the then strange new concept of photography. The French artist is famous today for allegedly exclaiming, “From today, painting is dead” after seeing a photograph for the first time in 1839. Yet, in fact, he was an enthusiastic early advocate of photography, who, in a report to the French Government, commented that the “process completely satisfies all the demands of art”. Subsequently Fenton returned home to London and continued his art studies, but, in 1851, he took the momentous decision to give up painting and focus on photography. He is said to have made the decision after seeing a display of photographs on a visit to the Great Exhibition, held that year in London. He held his first exhibition the following year, including scenes of the capital and portraits of family and friends. In August 1852, Fenton was invited by the civil engineer, Charles Vignoles, to photograph the construction of a suspension bridge across the Dnieper River near Kviv. Now the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv was at that time in the Russian Empire. Fenton took the opportunity to travel extensively round the whole country and photograph some of its most iconic landmarks such as the Kremlin in Moscow. 82
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
Roger Fenton 1852 Self-Portrait
These photographic images of previously unseen exotic locations caused quite a stir upon Fenton’s return to London in late November and brought his work to the attention of some very influential people. He began an association with the British Museum and was charged with taking pictures of its important artefacts. A special photographic studio was constructed on the Museum’s roof, which remained in use for well over a century until it was demolished during the 1990s. In 1854, Fenton was asked by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to take photographs of the British royal family. His first photos of the Queen were relatively informal in composition. This indicates that they were not intended for public display, but rather for private use by the royal family. The royal couple were known to be early photography enthusiasts and supported Fenton in his work. In early 1855, Fenton set off on a mission to document events in the bloody conflict between the British Empire and its allies and the Russian Empire, which was then taking place on the Crimean Peninsula. He travelled with official letters of introduction to top-ranking British officers from Prince Albert. His trip was financed by a Manchester publishing firm called Thomas Agnew & Sons, who were hoping to publish his images. However, it seems Fenton also had the backing of the British Government. British forces in the Crimea had already suffered heavy casualties and the war was becoming increasingly unpopular with the public back home. Fenton appears to have been given the brief of presenting the conflict in a positive light and to avoid any graphic images of the wounded and the dead. Fenton travelled to the Crimea accompanied by his assistant, Marcus Sparling and a servant called www.lancmag.com
