(Curatorial caption, accessed 23 November 2014)
Amateur photographer John Muir Wood took this calotype in an unknown place in Scotland around 1850. Much of Wood's landscape photography demonstrates great similarities to conventional landscape painting. His compositions are deliberately constructed to draw the viewer into the image and often have a very clear point of focus. In this case, the focus of the image is the ruined building on top of the hill, which reminds us that this deserted place was once inhabited. The ruined state of the building is echoed by the rocks and pebbles in the stream, which is used as the tool to lead the eye into the picture.
