, 2008. Fibreglass stone and airplane. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2011. Photo © Roman März](/images/content/menuSeeGallery.png)
Benjamin West
The Death of General Wolfe (Detail), 1770
oil on canvas
152.6 x 214.5 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 (Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, England, 1918)
National Gallery of Canada (no. 8007)
Collections
William Henry Fox Talbot
1800 - 1877
William Henry Fox Talbot, scientist, mathematician and landowner, was one of the inventors of photography. In the 1830s, frustrated by his poor drawing skills, and captivated by the fleeting “fairy pictures” produced by the camera lucida and camera obscura drawing aids of the time, he experimented with a method of making images using only chemistry and sunlight. He wrote, “... the idea occurred to me... how charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably, and remain fixed upon the paper!” (Talbot, The Pencil of Nature, 1844.)
Announced publicly in 1839, it took Talbot several years to perfect his invention. The negative-positive system still used in photography today derives directly from his discoveries. Between 1844 and 1846, Talbot published installments of The Pencil of Nature. This was the first book in the world to be fully illustrated with photographs.
© By kind permission of the Talbot Trust and the National Trust Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock United Kingdom.
Birth name
William Henry Fox Talbot
Born
Born in Melbury, England, 11 February 1800
Died
Died in Lacock, England, 17 September 1877
Nationality
British
Audioguide
No Audio
Media
No Media
Library and Archives
Extras
No Extras
Church of St. Paul, Paris. Photograph by Unknown Photographer
Interior of a Gothic Cathedral. Aquatint by Unknown Artist
Scenery of Loch Katrine
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