Julia Jackson

Cameron’s portraits are cornerstones in the early history of photography. After receiving her first camera at age 48, she established a private studio at her home on the Isle of Wight and mastered the collodion wet-plate process. Her works document her Victorian literary and intellectual community. This photograph depicts Julia Jackson, mother of author Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell.

Cameron became known for her soft-focus technique, with long exposure times and unretouched scratches or spots of dirt, which give her work a painterly, handmade appearance. Cameron said she wanted to “capture the soul” of her sitters, a characteristic evident in these introspective portraits. Cameron’s photographs were rediscovered and popularized in the 20th century by Alfred Stieglitz.