| Dates: | 1798 - 1860 | | Active: | UK |
Preparing biographies
Fry’s well-deserved reputation as one of prime movers behind the promotion of photography sometimes overshadows his own considerable attainments in the art. We do not know when he first became interested in photography, but, according to the British Journal of Photography, after his death it was said that he had begun with photogenic drawing even before Talbot announced his discovery of the calotype process in 1841, and also that he visited Robert Hunt in Falmouth to share information. A solicitor in London who was always known as a kindhearted fellow and a good companion, Fry founded the Calotype Club, a loosely organized gathering of a dozen amateurs, in 1847. When the Photographic Society was being formed in 1853, the controversy concerning Talbot’s patent rights had still not been resolved, with Fry leading the battle to reject the inventor’s offer of a special license. He was also the zealous defense lawyer for Sylvester Laroche in the action that eventually overturned Talbot’s patent in 1854. Fry participated regularly in exhibitions between 1852 and 1856; most of his work was in paper negatives, predominantly architectural views; there were also some portraits rendered in collodion. Fry was one of the first to learn of Frederick Scott Archer’s wet-collodion process and he urged the young sculptor to publish his invention, which he did in 1851. Not long after this, during a visit to Italy, Fry set up his camera to photograph a work of art in collodion. A student had been engaged for a week in making a copy of the work in oils, but on seeing how rapidly Fry was able to make his exactingly faithful photographic copy, the hapless artist smashed his canvas across his knee. Perhaps Fry had inadvertently created one more convert to photography.
Roger Taylor & Larry J. Schaaf Impressed by Light: British Photographs from Paper Negatives, 1840-1860 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2007)
This biography is courtesy and copyright of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is included here with permission.
Date last updated: 4 Nov 2012.
SHARED BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION PROJECT
We welcome institutions and scholars willing to test the sharing of biographies for the benefit of the photo-history community. The biography above is a part of this trial.
If you find any errors please email us details so they can be corrected as soon as possible. |
|
| | Premium content for those who want to understand photography |
References are available for subscribers.There is so much more to explore when you subscribe.
Subscriptions
| | Portraits
If you have a portrait of this photographer or know of the whereabouts of one we would be most grateful.
alan@luminous-lint.com |
Family history
If you are related to this photographer and interested in tracking down your extended family we can place a note here for you to help. It is free and you would be amazed who gets in touch.
alan@luminous-lint.com |
|
LuminousLint 
@LuminousLint