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Roger Fenton was born at Crimble Hall in Lancashire, England, on March 28, 1819. His
father, John Fenton (1791-1863), had inherited a sizeable mill and banking fortune,
and he
served as a Member of Parliament and Justice of the Peace for the County of Lancashire
and
the West Riding of Yorkshire. He had seven children with Fenton's mother, Elizabeth
Apedaile, who died in 1830, and ten more children with his second wife. Fenton studied
at
the University of Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1840. He went
on to
read law at University College in London, but he put his law studies aside to study
painting. In 1841 or 1842 Fenton traveled to Paris, possibly to train under the French
artist Paul Delaroche (1797-1856), who used photography in the service of painting. |
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Fenton returned to England in 1843, resumed his study of law, and married Grace Maynard
(1816-1886). He eventually worked as a solicitor, though he continued to paint and
photograph. He had several canvases accepted by the Royal Academy, joined the Photographic
Club in London when it formed in 1847, and helped found the Photographic Society in
1853.
During this time Fenton sought out instruction from the English painter Charles Lucy
(1814-1873), and he returned to Paris for further instruction in painting. It is unclear
when and why Fenton began experimenting with photography as more than a tool for painting.
Though he received some critical encouragement in his painting career, it was clear
that his
prospects on that path were mediocre, and he was ambivalent about a career in law.
Fenton
returned to Paris in 1851, again for instruction, this time from the French painter
and
photographer Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884). It was with Le Gray that Fenton learned
to use the
waxed paper negative process and began to think of photography as an art unto itself.
Le
Gray also demonstrated ways for a photographer to earn money though official commissions,
fees from students, and producing photographs of works of art. |
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Fenton undertook his first large-scale traveling photography project in 1852 when
he
documented the construction of a bridge in Kiev, then part of the Russian Empire.
He also
photographed churches and buildings in Moscow. During this trip, Fenton learned how
to
orchestrate a complicated project, prepare negatives in the field, and safely move
his
equipment. On his return to England, Fenton successfully exhibited and sold prints
from this
trip. Soon after this success, the British Museum commissioned Fenton to photograph
works in
its collection. While this project was less complicated than the previous one, it
allowed
Fenton to perfect his techniques. He was also asked to photograph Queen Victoria and
the
royal family on several occasions. |
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In the fall of 1854, Fenton began preparing to travel to Ukraine to document the
Russo-Turkish, or Crimean, War. Other photographers had gone to the Balaklava, but
their
attempts met with destructive storms and insurmountable difficulties, and none of
their work
survives. Fenton purchased a wine merchant's caravan and outfitted it as a dark room
and
living quarters. Financed by Manchester publisher Thomas Agnew & Sons, and with letters
of introduction from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Fenton arrived in Balaklava
in early
March 1855. The previous winter had ravaged the English and French troops. A terrible
storm
in November 1854 had destroyed and disrupted supplies, unsanitary conditions weakened
the
soldiers, and cholera ran rampant through the camps. Fenton arrived to an early spring,
rebuilt rail lines, and generally improving conditions. He was there to document the
war,
but the publisher, Thomas Agnew and Sons, hoped to make money on the expedition, and
Fenton's images could not offend the sensibilities of Victorian England. Fenton also
took
great advantage of his royal letters of introduction, dining and living with officers
and
generals. Given these circumstances, Fenton's images, while not pro-war propaganda,
do not
show the worst of the Crimean War. |
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Using glass plate negatives and the wet collodion process, Fenton successfully captured
striking images of generals, officers, landscapes, and panoramas in the spring, when
the
light was strong. Fenton's Crimean photographs are notable for the lack of blurring
of the
figures, even though exposure times were between three and twenty seconds. At the
same time,
they are not stiff or posed, but possess dynamism and composition that expresses motion
and
action. Fenton brought with him several cameras, some quite large in order to capture
the
broad landscapes and produce large prints. Fenton took portraits of officers, generals,
and
soldiers, and documented camp life and the wide array of uniforms used by regiments,
He also
captured many landscapes, and photographed military fortifications and artillery.
As the
spring progressed and the temperature on the exposed plains increased, however, Fenton
had
trouble treating the plates with collodion, exposing the plates, and developing the
negative
before the collodion dried. The quality of the light changed as the temperature rose,
and
the exposure times required increased. Fenton witnessed heavy English and French losses
on 7
and 18 June in attacks on Russian positions. Soon after, Fenton sold his caravan and
sailed
for England, arriving on 11 July 1855. |
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Fenton managed to produce over 300 usable images under difficult circumstances. He
presented his work to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert almost immediately, who then
took a
small selection to Paris on a state visit to Napoleon III. Fenton and his publisher
mounted
an exhibition of the photographs in October, and between 1 November 1855 and 5 April
1856
offered them for sale by subscription. Altogether, Agnew published 360 views, groups,
portraits, and panoramas in several portfolios. |
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Fenton's photographs of the Crimean War garnered him some recognition, but not much
money.
He returned to photographing works of art for the British Museum. He also traveled
throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, photographing churches, abbeys, castles,
large
estate homes, and landscapes. In addition, he produced still life studies that
compositionally hearkened back to his studies as a painter. Fenton retired from photography
in 1862 and returned to the practice of law, selling his equipment and negatives at
auction.
He never gave a real explanation for his unexpected departure from the photographic
world.
It is possible that photography's increasing relegation to a technical rather than
artistic
pursuit discouraged him. Also possible is that the rise of the carte-de-visite in
the late
1850s and early 1860s saturated the photographic market and made his publications
less
profitable. Fenton died after a short illness on 8 August 1869. Although he only practiced
photography for eleven years, Fenton contributed to the technical and aesthetic development
of the medium. He was a founding member of the Photographic Society and a forceful
champion
of the need for a learned society to support the efforts of photographers in England.
He was
one of the first wartime photographers and shaped how Great Britain understood the
Crimean
War. |
