Autograph Letter 20 - 1875

This is a handwritten letter by Julia Margaret Cameron, dating from June 1875. Cameron, better known as a pioneering photographer, penned this missive to a Miss Osborne, expressing her thoughts on wealth and character. The letter offers a fascinating glimpse into the social attitudes of Victorian England, particularly regarding class and moral worth. Cameron writes about how poverty of spirit "belong chiefly to the very rich," and how wealth "seems a destroyer, instead of a creator of the noblest virtues in Man." In a society rigidly stratified by class, such sentiments challenge the conventional association of wealth with virtue and nobility. As an artist working within the Victorian social structure, Cameron's perspective is revealing. To fully understand the context of this letter, one might delve into the correspondence of Victorian intellectuals and artists, examining their views on wealth, poverty, and social reform. The institutional history of Victorian art, including the patronage system, also sheds light on the complex relationship between artists and the wealthy elite.