To affirm the place of their medium within the fine arts, some early photographers, particularly in Great Britain, depicted subjects drawn from history, religion, or literature and directed their scenes to emulate the expressive gestures and period details of grand history painting. Here, William Lake Price drew on Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Although this approach was largely overshadowed in subsequent years by one that championed qualities unique to photographic vision, theatrical staging has become common again in the work of many contemporary artists.