Julia Margaret Cameron
1872
King Lear Allotting His Kingdom to His Three Daughters

Albumen print
33.7 x 28.6 cm (image) 56 x 46 cm (mount)
 
George Eastman Museum
Gift of Eastman Kodak Company, 1981.1121.0037
 
This photograph was included in the exhibition The Pre-Raphelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848-1875 at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (October 31, 2010 - January 30, 2011)
 
In illustrating Shakespeare's tragedy, Cameron closely framed the four characters and focused on the psychological intensity of their expressions. Lear has announced that he will divide his kingdom among his daughters, giving the largest allotment to the one who loves him best. Charles Cameron, the photographer's husband, modeled for King Lear, while the three Liddell sisters posed as his daughters, with Alice at right. Lewis Carroll's muse for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, she also appears as Pomona (no. 22).
 
LL/45914