Cameron, Julia Margaret (kăm`ərən), 1815–79, English pioneer photographer, b. Calcutta (now Kolkata). Born and married into the high ranks of the British civil service, Cameron became an intimate of many of the most famous people of her day. In 1864 she became an ardent amateur photographer, demanding long, arduous sittings from her illustrious friends. She sought to illuminate the inner person of her subject, and her celebrated portraits, including those of Tennyson, Carlyle, Ellen Terry, Browning, Darwin, and Longfellow, are remarkably spontaneous. She also pioneered the use of closeups, soft focus, and the darkroom manipulation of negatives and was a key figure in establishing the photographic portrait as a legitimate work of art. Some of her works were published as Victorian Photographs of Famous Men and Fair Women (rev. ed. 1973).

Bibliography

See biographies by B. Hill (1973), H. Gernsheim (1975), and C. Ford (2003); C. Ford and J. Cox, Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs (2003).

Cameron, Julia Margaret

(born June 11, 1815, Calcutta, India—died Jan. 26, 1879, Kalutara, Ceylon) British portrait photographer. In 1864, after receiving a camera as a gift, she set up a studio and darkroom and began taking portraits. Her sitters were friends such as Alfred Tennyson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Charles Darwin. Her sensitive portraits of women, such as that of Ellen Terry, are especially noteworthy. Like many Victorian photographers, she made allegorical photographs in imitation of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings of the day. Her technical ability was criticized, but she was more interested in spiritual depth than in technical perfection; her portraits are considered exceptionally fine.