Making an Art of Photography

It is often assumed that photography began life in the 19th century as a document and it was only in late twentieth century that its potential as an art form was recognised. But the question of photography’s relationship to art has been a staple of discussions on photography since the new technology was made known to the public in 1839. Moreover, the suggestion that photography could be artistic also had political ramifications: some commentators saw it as a threat to the natural order (Lady Eastlake) and to the primacy of imaginative labour (Charles Baudelaire). What was at stake in making an art of photography?

Suggested reading

• Charles Baudelaire, ‘The Modern Public and Photography’ (1859). https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/courses/1457197/files/70783567/download?verifier=xX a4ZHt5tNp3O1jPoADYxmVrI0GBM7tkfRwLB6x4
• Elizabeth Eastlake, ‘Photography’, part 2, Quarterly Review (1857). Read text from paragraph 7 of part 2 onward. http://www.nearbycafe.com/photocriticism/members/archivetexts/photohistory/east lake/eastlakephotography2.html
• Julia Margaret Cameron, ‘Annals of My Glass House’ (1874). https://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/lklichfall13/files/2013/08/Cameron-Annals-ofMy-Glass-House.pdf