The Bowling Green 1887

Peter Henry Emerson captured "The Bowling Green" using photogravure, a process that transforms photographs into intaglio prints. Emerson, born in Cuba to a wealthy, white, American family, was part of a late 19th-century movement of photographers advocating for art photography as a fine art form. Emerson sought to capture rural England, specifically East Anglia, with what he termed "truth to nature." The people he photographed were often working-class, rural laborers. This image speaks to the pastimes of working-class men, enjoying a game of bowls. We see working men engaged in leisure. The image hints at social structures and the communal aspects of working-class life. Although Emerson argued for the artistic integrity of photography, his work also reflects the social dynamics of his time, capturing moments of everyday life through his own aesthetic lens. It invites us to consider both the artistry and the social context of this quiet scene.