Three Grasses
Artist
William Henry Fox Talbot
(English, 1800 - 1877)
Dateca. 1852-1857
MediumPhotographic engraving
DimensionsImage: 2 3/4 x 4 1/16 inches (6.99 x 10.31 cm)
Sheet: 5 1/4 x 6 5/8 inches (13.34 x 16.84 cm)
Sheet: 5 1/4 x 6 5/8 inches (13.34 x 16.84 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object number2008.41.21
Signednone
Inscribednone
MarkingsOn sheet recto, lower left corner, in pencil: "20";
On sheet verso, lower left corner, in pencil: "102491.0179 PM"
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of three different grass specimens against a light background; the one leaning to the left is largest, the one in the middle has tight leaves, and the one on the right is small and faint.Gallery LabelThree Grasses is an early experiment in photomechanical reproduction. To make this image, William Henry Fox Talbot laid delicate grasses directly on a light-sensitized metal plate. After using chemicals to etch the area covered by the grasses, he inked and printed the plate. Talbot was one of photography’s inventors. He first made a permanent camera image on paper in 1835. By 1841, he had patented the calotype technique, which allowed for multiple prints to be made from a single paper negative.
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Terry Evans
May 1979; printed 2012
2012.17.66
