Nelson's Column under Construction, Trafalgar Square, London
April 1844
Medium
Salted paper print
Dimensions
Image: 17 × 21.1 cm (6 3/4 × 8 5/16 in.); Paper: 18.8 × 22.5 cm (7 7/16 × 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
salted paper print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
27057
Art Historical Context
Step into the dawn of photography with William Henry Fox Talbot's *Nelson's Column under Construction,algar Square, London (April 1844), a salted paper print now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago Photography and Media Department. Capturing the iconic London landmark mid-build, this 17 × 21.1 cm image freezes a pivotal moment in Victorian urban transformation. Trafalgar Square, named for the 1805 naval victory, was evolving into a grand public space honoring Admiral Horatio Nelson, whose towering column—designed by William Railton—symbolized British imperial pride. Talbot, a pioneering Br...
About the Artist
William Henry Fox Talbot · 1800–1877
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877), a British polymath whose ingenuity transformed visual representation, was born on 11 February 1800 at Melbury House, Dorset, the only child of William Davenport Talbot of Lacock Abbey and Lady Elisabeth Fox Strangways, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Ilchester. His father died shortly after his birth, leaving the family in financial straits until his formidable mo...