13. Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) The Parting of Lancelot and Guinevere, 1874 Albumen print on contemporary blue card mount with gilt border, signed, titled and annotated "From life registered photograph copyright Freshwater" in black ink on mount recto, "PTR" stamped in blue ink verso,
34.5 x 28.5cm (13 3/4 x 11 1/4in)
Literature: Cox and Ford, Julia Margaret Cameron, The Complete Photographs, 2003, pl 1170 (p.474)
Cameron's friend Alfred Lord Tennyson encouraged her to make a series of photographs to illustrate his Idylls of the King, poems on Arthurian legends. Cameron spent three months recreating literary scenes, eager to demonstrate that photography was the equal of other forms of illustration. Her models were drawn from her own household with her husband Charles Hay Cameron, wearing a beard extension of cotton wool, portraying Merlin.
est. £6000 – £8000