News

Mythology. "Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In," National Portrait Gallery, 2024

L to R: Pair: Julia Margaret Cameron. “Vivien and Merlin,” 1874 / Francesca Woodman. “Charlie the Model #9,” c. 1976-77 / Julia Margaret Cameron. “Vivien and Merlin,” 1874, 322 x 256 mm. Albumen print. National Portrait Gallery, London / Francesca Woodman. “Charlie the Model #9,” c. 1976-77, 5 1/4 x 5 1/8 in. (13.3 x 13 cm). Gelatin silver print / Julia Margaret Cameron. “Lady Elcho/A Dantesque Vision,” 1865, 273 x 225 mm. Albumen print. Victoria and Albert Museum / Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. (8.255 x 8.255 cm). Gelatin silver print / Julia Margaret Cameron. “Daphne (Mary Pinnock),” 1866-68, 352 x 272 mm. Albumen print. Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford / Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” 1980, 4 3/8 x 3 15/16 in. (11.113 x 10.003 cm). Gelatin silver print / Julia Margaret Cameron. “May Prinsep,” 1868, 324 x 232 mm. Albumen print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Francesca Woodman. “Corner With Lily,” 1978, 8 7/16 x 8 3/8 in. (21.433 x 21.273 cm). Gelatin silver print/ Pair: Julia Margaret Cameron. “May Prinsep,” 1868 / Francesca Woodman. “Corner With Lily,” 1978. All Francesca Woodman artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / DACS, London.
L to R: Pair: Julia Margaret Cameron. “Vivien and Merlin,” 1874 / Francesca Woodman. “Charlie the Model #9,” c. 1976-77 / Julia Margaret Cameron. “Vivien and Merlin,” 1874, 322 x 256 mm. Albumen print. National Portrait Gallery, London / Francesca Woodman. “Charlie the Model #9,” c. 1976-77, 5 1/4 x 5 1/8 in. (13.3 x 13 cm). Gelatin silver print / Julia Margaret Cameron. “Lady Elcho/A Dantesque Vision,” 1865, 273 x 225 mm. Albumen print. Victoria and Albert Museum / Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” c. 1977-78, 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. (8.255 x 8.255 cm). Gelatin silver print / Julia Margaret Cameron. “Daphne (Mary Pinnock),” 1866-68, 352 x 272 mm. Albumen print. Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford / Francesca Woodman. “Untitled,” 1980, 4 3/8 x 3 15/16 in. (11.113 x 10.003 cm). Gelatin silver print / Julia Margaret Cameron. “May Prinsep,” 1868, 324 x 232 mm. Albumen print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Francesca Woodman. “Corner With Lily,” 1978, 8 7/16 x 8 3/8 in. (21.433 x 21.273 cm). Gelatin silver print/ Pair: Julia Margaret Cameron. “May Prinsep,” 1868 / Francesca Woodman. “Corner With Lily,” 1978. All Francesca Woodman artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / DACS, London.

National Portrait Gallery
St Martin’s Place, London

In Portraits to Dream In, Francesca Woodman’s and Julia Margaret Cameron’s photographs are paired not based on chronology or art historical influence, but rather with an eye to ways that considering the work of these two artists side by side allows for new readings of each of their work and intentions. The exhibition’s themed section titled “Mythology: Four Propositions” leads with Cameron’s visual explorations of the Greek myths of Daphne and Apollo and the Cumaean Sibyl, and the Arthurian Legends of Elaine of Astolat and Vivien and Merlin. Woodman’s photographs, while not explicitly named as such, share uncanny correspondences with Cameron’s depictions. As curator Magdalene Keaney explains: “It is a characteristic of dreams that they are open to myriad readings, and these creative pairings are propositions, revelling in subjective, open-ended interpretation and storytelling.”

‍

Click on the image above for a complete gallery view and details.

Categories:
Exhibition
Francesca Woodman
Tags:
Exhibition
Francesca Woodman
Backstories
Portraits to Dream In
Back
All images © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Design by condensed