NGV Lecture
‘I have captured a shadow!’ – William Henry Fox Talbot and the invention of photography
Frustrated by his appalling draughtsmanship, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) was compelled to invent the art of photography. Drawing on extensive archives of original photographs, manuscripts and letters, Larry J Schaaf argues that beyond the necessary act of invention, Talbot grew into the first artist to be taught by photography.
Speaker Prof Larry J Schaaf, Director of The Correspondence of William Fox Talbot and independent photo historian and consultant based in Baltimore, Maryland. He taught photography and photographic history at The University of Texas at Austin, where he worked with the Gernsheim Collection of photography. Dr. Schaaf is the author of numerous books and journal articles on the early history of photography. Since 1999, he has been the Editor of ‘The Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot’. In 2005, he was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University.
Date: Wed 28 Sep, 6.30pm
Venue: Education Theatre, Level 1, NGV International
Cost $18 Adult / $12 NGV Member / $14 Student
Program Bookings 03 8662 1555 – Event code P11250
