Coombe Martin Bay
1870s
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1973
Accession Number
1973.502.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Coombe Martin Bay 1870s** Francis Frith, a pioneering British photographer, captures the dramatic beauty of Coombe Martin in North Devon, England, during the 1870s. Known for his expansive topographic views, Frith documented Britain's landscapes with a keen eye for natural grandeur, often evoking the Romantic tradition of celebrating sublime scenery. This image showcases rugged cliffs, rolling mountains, and the serene bay below, inviting viewers to imagine the salty sea air and timeless coastal allure. Printed as an albumen silver print from a glass negative, the work exemplifies mid-19t...
About the Artist
Francis Frith · 1822–1898
Francis Frith (1822–1898) was born on 7 October 1822 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, into a prosperous Quaker merchant family as the second child and only son of Francis Frith Sr. and Alice Walker. Educated at Quaker schools including Ackworth and Camp Hill in Birmingham from around 1828 to 1838, he apprenticed in the cutlery trade before establishing himself as a wholesale grocer in Liverpool, suppl...