William Henry Fox Talbot

(British, 1800–1877)

William Henry Fox Talbot was one of the early inventors of photography. At the same time Louis Daguerre developed daguerreotypes in Paris, Talbot had begun producing calotypes, which employed a solution of sodium to fix photosensitive paper after its exposure to light. “How charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably, and remain fixed upon the paper,” he once mused. Born on February 11, 1800 in Dorset, United Kingdom, he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and was a scholar in a number of fields including chemistry, Egyptology, art history, and botany. The notion of a photograph dawned on Talbot in 1833 while he was using a camera lucida as an aid in drawing the Italian countryside near Lake Como. Dissatisfied with his inability capture the beauty of the refracted image he saw, the artist began experimenting with chemical solutions to fix images on paper coated with silver nitrate. In the earliest of these attempts, he successfully captured exact silhouettes of botanical specimens through suspending them in glass above the paper and exposing them to the sun. In the decades that followed, Talbot continued his attempts at creating permanent images up until his death on September 17, 1877 in Lacock, United Kingdom. Though many of his calotypes remain fugitive or have deteriorated in condition, Talbot’s contribution to the future of the medium is a singular accomplishment. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among others.

William Henry Fox Talbot News

Sotheby's Will Auction a Hoard of the World's Earliest Photographs, Taken by 19th-Century Inventor Henry Fox Talbot—See Images Here

by Sarah Cascone

Sotheby's Will Auction a Hoard of the World's Earliest Photographs, Taken by 19th-Century Inventor Henry Fox Talbot—See Images Here

The Victoria & Albert Museum Reveals Details of New Photography Center

by Amah-Rose Abrams

The Victoria & Albert Museum Reveals Details of New Photography Center

Bradford Museum Director Defends Plans to Move Photography Collection to London's V&A

by Lorena Muñoz-Alonso

Bradford Museum Director Defends Plans to Move Photography Collection to London's V&A

William Henry Fox Talbot Artworks

William Henry Fox Talbot (310 results)

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1845

Sale Date: March 30, 2009

Auction Closed

The Tower of Orders, Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

The Tower of Orders, Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1845

Sale Date: May 4, 1995

Auction Closed

Wellington statue on Decimus Burton's arch,..., 1844

William Henry Fox Talbot

Wellington statue on Decimus Burton's arch,..., 1844

Sale Date: May 4, 1995

Auction Closed

Table set for refreshment, 1840–1841

William Henry Fox Talbot

Table set for refreshment, 1840–1841

Sale Date: May 4, 1995

Auction Closed

Fern, 1863

William Henry Fox Talbot

Sale Date: November 20, 2008

Auction Closed

The Hungerford Bridge, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

The Hungerford Bridge, 1845

Sale Date: November 20, 2008

Auction Closed

Lacock Abbey, 1844

William Henry Fox Talbot

Lacock Abbey, 1844

Sale Date: November 27, 2008

Auction Closed

The ladder, 1840–1849

William Henry Fox Talbot

The ladder, 1840–1849

Sale Date: October 28, 2008

Auction Closed

Louis Kossuth

William Henry Fox Talbot

Louis Kossuth

Sale Date: July 17, 2008

Auction Closed

The boulevards of Paris, 1843

William Henry Fox Talbot

The boulevards of Paris, 1843

Sale Date: November 29, 2007

Auction Closed

Le Pont d'Hungerford, Londres, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

Le Pont d'Hungerford, Londres, 1845

Sale Date: November 18, 2007

Auction Closed

Lacock Abbey, 1842–1843

William Henry Fox Talbot

Lacock Abbey, 1842–1843

Sale Date: November 21, 2007

Auction Closed

A fruit piece, pl. XXIV (from The Pencil of..., 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

A fruit piece, pl. XXIV (from The Pencil of..., 1845

Sale Date: November 7, 2007

Auction Closed

Coley Avenue, Reading, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

Coley Avenue, Reading, 1845

Sale Date: November 7, 2007

Auction Closed

The fruit sellers, Lacock Abbey, England, 1842

William Henry Fox Talbot

The fruit sellers, Lacock Abbey, England, 1842

Sale Date: November 7, 2007

Auction Closed

Lacock Abbey, 1844

William Henry Fox Talbot

Lacock Abbey, 1844

Sale Date: November 12, 2007

Auction Closed

The High Street, Oxford, September 1843, 1843

William Henry Fox Talbot

The High Street, Oxford, September 1843, 1843

Sale Date: November 12, 2007

Auction Closed

The gate of Christ Church, Oxford, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

The gate of Christ Church, Oxford, 1845

Sale Date: November 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Hungerford Bridge, 1842

William Henry Fox Talbot

Hungerford Bridge, 1842

Sale Date: October 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Eve, Lacock Abbey, 1840

William Henry Fox Talbot

Eve, Lacock Abbey, 1840

Sale Date: June 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Entrance gate, Abbotsford, 1844

William Henry Fox Talbot

Entrance gate, Abbotsford, 1844

Sale Date: April 26, 2007

Auction Closed

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1845

William Henry Fox Talbot

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1845

Sale Date: April 26, 2007

Auction Closed

High Street, Oxford, 1842

William Henry Fox Talbot

High Street, Oxford, 1842

Sale Date: April 25, 2007

Auction Closed

Church of St. Maurice at Vienne in France, 1866

William Henry Fox Talbot

Church of St. Maurice at Vienne in France, 1866

Sale Date: November 7, 2006

Auction Closed

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