William Henry Fox Talbot
Winter Trees, Reflected in a Pond

CultureBritish
Titles
  • Winter Trees, Reflected in a Pond
Date1842
MediumSalted paper print from paper negative
DimensionsImage: 6 1/2 × 7 9/16 in. (16.5 × 19.2 cm)
Sheet: 7 3/4 × 9 7/8 in. (19.7 × 25.1 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2004.686
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 208
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description


Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot revealed a rival photographic process just weeks after Daguerre’s announcement in 1839. Unlike the daguerreotype—a one-of-a-kind object distinguished by its clarity and detail—Talbot’s process produced a paper negative that could be used to print multiple positive photographs, each with a soft, atmospheric character. Just three years after the invention of his process,Talbot was not merely taking documentary images of the world, but creating images with clear artistry. With dark, entwined tree limbs that resemble the fine lines of a drawing, Winter Trees, Reflected in a Pond is graphic, bold, and nearly abstract. In this complex picture, the subject matter and composition reveal the striking artistic possibilities of Talbot’s process.



ProvenanceLacock Abbey; [Robert Hershkowitz Ltd., Sussex, England]; purchased by Manfred Heiting, May 2, 1989; purchased by MFAH, 2004.
Exhibition History"The Marzio Years: Transforming the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1982–2010," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 25, 2020–January 10, 2021.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Marked in ink, verso, lower right: LA214
There is no evident signature.
Catalogue raisonnéSC2135

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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William Henry Fox Talbot
1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
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William Henry Fox Talbot
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Salted paper print from paper negative
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2004.690
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William Henry Fox Talbot
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Salted paper print from paper negative
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Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.694
The Bridge of Orleans
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Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.693
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William Henry Fox Talbot
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Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.691
William Henry Fox Talbot
c. 1843, printed 1995
Salted paper print from paper negative, printed Michael and Barbara Gray
95.79
Bush of Hydrangea in Flower
William Henry Fox Talbot
1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2004.692
Summit of the Tower of Lacock Abbey, Taken from the Roof of the Building
William Henry Fox Talbot
October 14, 1840
Salted paper print from paper negative
2015.91
Bust of Patroclus
William Henry Fox Talbot
August 9, 1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
2015.619
The Pencil of Nature
William Henry Fox Talbot
1844
Book of salted paper prints from paper negatives
2020.346.1-.11