Posting pictures of sailing ships reminded me of the work of Frank Meadow Sutcliffe who used the medium of photography as art. He was born in Headingly, Leeds in October 1853 and started work as a portrait photographer in Tunbridge wells before moving to Whitby where he set up a photographic business. When in Whitby he extensively photographed the town, the people and local villages which ultimately led to a photographic documentary of the social history of Victorian Whitby.
One of his most famous works Water Rats was controversial and led to him being excommunicated by the local clergy.
Water Rats caused a little comment at the time as it featured naked children, but the image is not erotic. Sutcliffe was using the conventions of the academic nude to show how photography can approach art. He was, however, excommunicated by his local clergy for displaying it, as they thought it would ‘corrupt’ the opposite sex.
Copies of his work can be purchased from the Sutcliffe Gallery in Whitby which cites the following about his work:
All the sepia photographs you see on this website were taken in and around Whitby by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (Hon. F.R.P.S.) between 1875 and 1910. His large camera was made of mahogany with brass fittings and took ‘whole plate’ glass negatives (6.5″x8.5″).
Photography in Victorian times was not an easy craft to master and people were often content to produce an acceptable image which was sharp and well exposed – but there were a handful of photographers who wanted to lift their pictures into the heady realms of ‘Art’.
Frank Meadow Sutcliffe was one of these artists! He became World famous as one of the greatest exponents of pictorial photography, winning over 60 gold, silver and bronze medals from exhibitions in Tokyo, Vienna, France and the U.S.A. as well as Great Britain.
He was made an honorary member of The Royal Photographic Society in 1935, the highest award attainable.
I am very fond of his work, probably because one of my ancestoral lines lived in the Whitby area. The photographs give me the chance to see where my ancestors lived and worked bringing their world alive for me. I have four Sutcliffe photographs on my wall at home:
The quality of this man’s work is outstanding. He had an uncanny talent for composition. The sepia tones lend such a nostalgic feel to the photos. The slide show on the Sutcliffe site was excellent – so much so I almost preferred the sepia photos to the real thing.
No wonder you have his work in your home.
There is something about his work isn’t there? I struggled to choose which ones for my wall. I also have a couple of books of his work and I never tire of looking at them.
I think everything was brown then – later it all turned black and white before reality went full colour in the sixties.
Brown was warm, black was cool and multicoloured was psychedelic…
(Almost) Any kind of art is easy to describe: Like it. Don’t like it.
These photos have something …
They certainly do have something
wow, I really like these!
His work is brilliant isn’t it?
Really interesting post, love the views, and looking at the slideshow on the gallery site; it’s nice to see things haven’t changed that much
I am glad you enjoyed it. I have the book Every Now and Then which compares some of his shots with the modern day equivalent.
LOL@Mutts
I love erotic art especially on in sepia. Black and white is nice too,but never colour[for erotic art/photography].
I hadn’t really thought of it before but I suppose colour would detract from the form.
Beautiful – and thank you for the reminder about this extraordinarily talented man’s work.
Glad you enjoyed it
I agree with Angus, this is a really interesting post. I am familiar with both Headingly and Whitby. Talking about water rats, I remember young children diving and swimming naked between the lock gates in the River Aire at Horsforth which is only a few miles away from Headingly.
Whitby is one of my favorite places to visit, although I haven’t been for some time. I really must make the effort to visit again soon.
Wow Cherie, the photo’s are fantastic, particularly, considering, the time when they were taken.
Next time we are out in N.Yorkshire, we will certainly pay a visit to the gallery.
Thankyou for sharing that with us,
Di.x
I am glad I inspired you to visit, it is well worth it
Fabulous post and I have a [near] complete set of his prints [those issued]. The work he put in cajoling the locals to pose and the sense of light were superb. As you know, that’s my area too over that way, so it was lovely to see this.
Thanks Cherie. Allow me to steal one shot.
Wow! how lovely to have a near complete set. I never tire of looking at them.
Well the shots aren’t mine
The photographs you have are beautiful. Peaceful, haunting… one can almost feel the atmosphere…
I am so glad you enjoyed them
Cherie, I was alerted to your site by John Hirst (JHL) and I just wanted to say how terrific it is. I have some of the Sutcliffe prints on the wall in my study and they are stunning.
Thank you for your kind comments
This post has made me realise what small world it is with so many connections we didn’t even know about.
Some years ago I had calendar with 12 of his photos. I kept them all. Two have been framed and the one of the Jet Workshop is on the wall in my workshop, to admire everyday.
I spotted next years calendar on the website and I am very tempted to send for it. One of my ancestors worked in the jet industry and I often wonder if just maybe he was in that picture.
Wow those are wonderful Cherie
I had a feeling you would like them
Seeing those pictures of Victorian Whitby made me think of Dracula!
When I read the book I could almost imagine myself sitting on the bench near the Church and looking out towards the sea.