Oscar G. Rejlander

Artist Photographer

Pauli Lori, Hellman Karen, Bear Jordan, Prodger Phillip

Oscar G. Rejlander (1813-1875) was a Swedish-born photographer who pioneered the genre of art photography. He is best known for combining negatives to form elaborate allegorical compositions and for his ability to communicate expression through his photographic studies and portraits. His influence shines in the works of other important photographers of the day. This catalogue accompanies the first major retrospective on this vital yet understudied figure and considers the whole range of his activities, including his work as a painter and printmaker.

Lori Pauli introduces Rejlander with a comprehensive survey of his life and career. Three essays follow, from leading scholars in the field of 19th-century photography, with topics ranging from Rejlander's engagement with Victorian painting, to his studio and working methods, to his artistic circle and work with Charles Darwin. Engagingly written and beautifully illustrated, this publication fills a void in scholarship on Rejlander; it also sheds light more broadly on the intersection of art and science and the uses of photography in Victorian culture, as well as the history of photography and its impact on Victorian culture.

About the Author

Lori Pauli is curator of the Photographs Collection at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Jordan Bear is associate professor of history of art at the University of Toronto.

Karen Hellman is assistant curator in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Phillip Prodger is senior research scholar at the Yale Center for British Art.

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