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Interior of Ely Cathedral

A work made of platinum print.

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  • A work made of platinum print.

Date:

c. 1903

Artist:

Frederick H. Evans
English, 1853–1943

About this artwork

A lifelong interest in the beautiful led London bookseller Frederick H. Evans to photography around 1885. He spent some 20 years photographing French and English cathedrals, working meticulously “to suggest the vastness, the grandeur of mass, the leading on from element to element, that so fascinates one in going through a cathedral.” For his views of the medieval Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, Evans requested that all modern furniture and fixtures be removed. At a time when most artist-photographers manipulated their prints to achieve a painterly effect, Evans preferred to stage a scene “naturally,” then to create straightforward images and print them in platinum, which gives more precise visual information. Despite this, Pictorialist organizations and artists embraced his work. The Linked Ring, a British Pictorialist society, elected him to join their ranks, and Alfred Stieglitz featured Evans’s cathedral views in Camera Work, making Evans the first English contributor to that American publication.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Frederick H. Evans

Title

Interior of Ely Cathedral

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1898–1908

Medium

Platinum print

Dimensions

17.5 × 8.6 cm (6 15/16 × 3 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Wells

Reference Number

1974.505

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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