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Cylene Wilson

Artist/Maker (English, 1815–1879)
Dateca. 1867
MediumAlbumen print
DimensionsImage: 13 11/16 × 10 1/2 in. (34.8 × 26.7 cm)
Mount: 14 15/16 × 11 1/8 in. (37.9 × 28.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Marilyn W. Grounds
Object number1981.42.12
Status
On view
More Information
Cameron’s portraits are cornerstones in the early history of photography. After receiving her first camera at age 48, she established a private studio at her home on the Isle of Wight and mastered the collodion wet-plate process. Her works document her Victorian literary and intellectual community.

Cameron became known for her soft-focus technique, with long exposure times and unretouched scratches or spots of dirt, which give her work a painterly, handmade appearance. Cameron said she wanted to “capture the soul” of her sitters, a characteristic evident in these introspective portraits. Cameron’s photographs were rediscovered and popularized in the 20th century by Alfred Stieglitz.
Exhibition History
Exhibition for Education Department, Lorain County Gifted and Talented Program: Photography
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 16, 1993 - July 20, 1993 )
Exhibition for Lorain County Gifted and Talented and the Oberlin Interagency Youth Council Camps
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 15, 1994 - July 28, 1994 )
Facing the Camera: Selected Portrait Photographs from the Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 21, 1995 - March 9, 1995 )
Exhibition for Lorain County Gifted and Talented Program
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 7, 1995 - July 13, 1995 )
What Are You Lookin' At? Photography at the Krannert Art Museum
  • Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana (January 22, 1999 - March 28, 1999 )
Focus: Power, Agency, and Objectivity in Early Photography
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 26, 2021 - December 23, 2021 )
Femme 'n isms, Part II: Flashpoints in Photography
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 2, 2024 - January 18, 2025 )
Collections
  • European
  • On View