[Patient, Surrey County Lunatic Asylum] 1850 - 1855

This salted paper print, "Patient, Surrey County Lunatic Asylum" (1850-1855) by Hugh Welch Diamond, a physician and photographer, depicts a female patient from Surrey County Lunatic Asylum in England. Diamond's photographs, often taken in a clinical setting, aimed to document the physical and psychological characteristics of individuals experiencing mental illness. This work, part of his extensive photographic research on mental illness, highlights the individual's melancholic demeanor. The photograph captures her in a somber pose, suggesting a state of introspection or resignation. It provides a glimpse into the lives of patients within a psychiatric institution in the mid-19th century.