Getty Museum

[David Roberts, R. A.]

Date

1843–1847

Medium

Salted paper print from a paper negative

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

> Hill and Adamson's photographs were the result of a successful collaboration where the partners (David Octavius Hill [1802-70] and Robert Adamson [1821-48]) contributed different but essential elements. A key component in their work was Adamson's technical virtuosity. In a March 12, 1845, letter to the artist David Roberts (1796-1864), Hill stated: "Adamson thinks he knows some things others do not." Regrettably, Hill did not elaborate. The duo's pictures, with their rich, reddish brown tones, were more uniform and permanent than William Henry Fox Talbot's (1800-77) own images, suggesting that Adamson had discovered an ingredient in his development formula that improved the calotype process. Recent scientific analysis has revealed the presence of varying levels of calcium, lead, iron, and manganese in the prints but offers no conclusive evidence for their coloration. > > Roberts began his artistic career as a house painter, then became a scene painter for a traveling circus. He worked for various theaters in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London and made a number of trips to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, from which he drew inspiration for his topographical paintings. From 1842 to 1849 he published *Views in the Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia*, a six-volume series of engravings that reflected his interest-in archaeological ruins. > > In this full-length portrait Roberts is standing in what may be considered an archaeological site of Edinburgh: Greyfriars Churchyard. The light catches his face; his body casts a shadow against the Dennistoun Monument in the background (see [84.XM.263.5](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/38273/hill-adamson-greyfriars'-churchyard-the-dennistoun-monument-with-d-o-hill-and-his-nieces-scottish-1843-1847/), [84.XO.734.4.4.14](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/99393/hill-adamson-dennistoun-monument-greyfriars-edinburgh-1843-1848/), [84.XO.964.15](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/99147/hill-adamson-greyfriars'-churchyard-the-dennistoun-monument-with-dohill-his-nieces-and-an-unknown-man-1843-1848/) and [84.XO.964.17](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/99149/hill-adamson-greyfriars'-churchyard-the-dennistoun-monument-1843-1848/)). The overturned top hat, a curious element, lies on the ground, its white label visible within the darkened mass. > > Anne M. Lyden. *Hill and Adamson*, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1999), 96. ©1999, J. Paul Getty Museum.

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