Lieutenant Colonel Shadforth and Officers of the 57th

Art Historical Context

Step into the gritty reality of the Crimean War with Roger Fenton's *Lieutenant Colonel Shadforth and of the 57th* (1855), a paper print from his groundbreaking album *Photographs Taken the Crimea* (1856). Fenton, a pioneering British photographer, was dispatched to the lines in 1855 as the first official war photographer. This portrait captures the poised officers of the 57th Regiment amid the harsh conditions of the conflict between Britain, France, and Russia over Ottoman territories, offering a rare, dignified glimpse into military life far from the battlefield's chaos. Crafted as plate 47 in Fenton's album, this 16.1 × 19.2 cm image exemplifies early salted paper printing—a process where paper is salted and sensitized with silver nitrate, yielding soft, warm-toned positives prized for their atmospheric depth. Fenton's static compositions emphasized heroism and order, sidestepping gore to suit Victorian sensibilities, yet they humanized soldiers and influenced photojournalism. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Photography and Media Department, this print preserves a pivotal moment when photography first chronicled war, bridging art and history for future generations.

About the Artist

Roger Fenton · 1819–1819

Roger Fenton (1819–1869), born into a prosperous Lancashire merchant family as the son of banker and MP John Fenton, initially pursued a scholarly path, earning a first-class BA from the University of London in 1840 before studying law at University College London. He abandoned these pursuits for art, training as a painter under the history painter Charles Lucy in London by 1847—the two became clo...