George Gilfillan and Samuel Brown 1843 - 1847

Curator: What strikes me most immediately is how pensive they both appear. It’s like peering into a private moment, intercepted just for us. Editor: Indeed, there's a palpable intensity in their gazes. We are looking at "George Gilfillan and Samuel Brown," a calotype created sometime between 1843 and 1847 by Hill and Adamson. It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: That Victorian gloom! You know, this sepia tone feels almost like a memory fading before my very eyes. Are we sure they are even real people? I love the way their faces capture such distinctive moods even through the somewhat soft focus. Editor: These ‘soft’ images were key to elevating photography as a valid form of high art, beyond its commercial applications. The meticulous arrangement of the sitters, the lighting and props—they all worked together to challenge painting. Hill and Adamson did many portraits of intellectuals during this time, solidifying photography’s power to capture and elevate the bourgeois subject. Curator: It feels terribly modern in that respect, I suppose. I am so curious, what kind of discussions, secrets or even dramas unfolded between the subjects while being photographed! Look, one figure appears rooted in his seat while the other almost looms—imposing presence, is it authority? Editor: I think we should not disregard the social performance inherent to portraiture of this period. They are performing the roles society assigned them: intellectual, leader, follower, perhaps? Photography, at this time, was often staged and mediated to emphasize ideal attributes that resonated within Victorian cultural sensibilities. Curator: You have definitely sparked a debate. But at the very least it is thought-provoking on different layers. In essence, Hill and Adamson not only portrayed these men but, unwittingly or not, became an intricate mirror reflecting societal structures. Editor: Exactly, and that complex dialogue continues, which keeps me engrossed to this day. I trust visitors will agree.