Margaret Eakins 1880s

This photograph of Margaret Eakins was made by her brother, Thomas Eakins, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Eakins was deeply involved in the technical aspects of photography, mastering the wet collodion process, which required coating a glass plate with chemicals, exposing it in the camera while still wet, and then developing it immediately. What’s remarkable here is that Eakins treated photography not merely as a means of documentation, but as an experimental medium. The tonal range in this portrait, achieved through careful manipulation of light and chemicals, gives the image a painterly quality. The direct gaze of Margaret, combined with the soft focus, creates an intimate and immediate connection with the viewer. Consider, too, the labor involved in producing such an image, far removed from our contemporary experience of instant digital photography. Eakins's embrace of this complex, time-intensive method underscores his commitment to both technical mastery and artistic expression. It collapses distinctions between the fine arts and the applied arts, inviting us to consider photography as a craft.