32 Mrs. Cameron's Photographs. 



gives rise to a vivid and pictorial expression of feature. Her 

 process is not a quick one, and she must have unusual tact and 

 skill in keeping her subjects happy, and in the mood she wants. 

 One cause of failure in the expression of ordinary photographic 

 portraits no doubt arises from the uncomfortable situation in 

 which the subjects find themselves. Who can look interesting 

 or natural in a glass garret, bothered with directions to stare 

 at a brass knob : told when to wink, and ordered to sit still. 

 " Wet your lips, and wink your eyes/' were the directions to a 

 party of ladies at one establishment ; and others may, for 

 aught we know, have recourse to Dickens' u prunes, prisms, 

 and papa/' to get the mouth into the required state. Those 

 portrait painters who have been most successful in giving life- 

 like expression to their works, have possessed the art of 

 influencing the mental condition, and drawing out their subjects; 

 and those photographers who wish to rise above the mechauism 

 of their profession, must cultivate it, and must arrange their 

 studios so as to make comfort, and natural expression, possible 

 in them. 



No. 12 of Mrs. Cameron's " life-sized heads" is so far a 

 misnomer as it is enlargement of life, admirably done. It 

 represents a noble-looking boy, a sort of young Jupiter, but 

 with a touch of Mercury's mischief and fun. We have noticed 

 that the size of this head puzzles many ordinary people, who 

 would have admired it on a smaller scale, and it wants some 

 little artistic education to appreciate any figures verging on 

 the colossal. Placed at a suitable distance it is singularly 

 effective, and artists view it with delight. In this piece Mrs. 

 Cameron has thrown aside all tame conventionalism. The 

 vigorous, free, natural treatment of the subject is worthy of 

 a great sculptor, and if we regard " Alice" as the most 

 pictorial of her portraits, this may be called the most 

 statuesque. 



We have not seen the original children of these portraits, 

 and therefore can offer no opinion' of how far Mrs. Cameron's 

 process realizes a likeness, but we should imagine, from the 

 vivacity and depth of expression, her success in this particular 

 must be great. What is, however, most remarkable is, the 

 extent to which she has made her portraits works of art. No 

 one unconnected with the family would care to have photo- 

 graphs of Miss Brown or Master Jones, as such things* are 

 ordinarily done, even if the children were above the average 

 in good looks, but a child painted by Corrcggio or Guercino is 

 another thing. We do not ask the name of the model, but 

 we prize the picture for qualities higher than those of mere 

 resemblance to a particular person. Mfs. Cameron's '' Alice" 

 and the Jupiter-like boy belong to this rare and high class of 



