Sir Auckland Colvin and Family, Shimla

Cleveland Museum of Art

Sir Auckland Colvin and Family, Shimla

Raja Deen Dayal

Date
1887
Medium
albumen print
Culture
India
Department
Photography
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art

Deen Dayal’s large glass plate negatives and view camera required daylight to capture people without a blur, so his large group portraits are usually set before the sitters’ homes in their gardens. The equipment also dictated that scenes be carefully posed, not candid, shots. Sir Auckland Colvin (1838–1908) and his daughters were photographed in 1887, the year he became lieutenant governor of North-Western Provinces, a position his father had once held. The sitters are arranged so they orbit two framed photographs displayed on a table, presumably depictions of Colvin’s deceased wife and son. Thanks to photography, the entire Colvin family was reunited.

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