Artist
Bourne & Shepherd(British, active India, 1863–2016)British, active India, 1863–2016
CultureBritish
Titles
- [Studio Portrait of Woman and Man Posed with Rifles]
Datec. 1880
MediumAlbumen silver print from glass negative
DimensionsImage: 5 1/2 × 3 13/16 in. (14 × 9.7 cm)
Sheet: 5 1/2 × 3 13/16 in. (14 × 9.7 cm)
Mount: 6 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (16.5 × 10.8 cm)
Sheet: 5 1/2 × 3 13/16 in. (14 × 9.7 cm)
Mount: 6 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (16.5 × 10.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Clinton T. Willour in honor of Kara Fiedorek
Object number2017.445
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
While this picture has several trappings of traditional
studio portraiture—sitters posing with props and a painted background—it is far
from typical. By including the edge of the scenic backdrop, the photographer
reveals the constructed nature of the picture. Rare too is the woman’s dress
and pose. Clad in a hunting outfit, she holds her gun in one hand and slips the
other into her coat
pocket. More common is the relationship between the two
figures. A standing European woman and sitting Indian servant are typical of
the time and illustrate the power dynamics at play in colonial India.
Provenance[Vintage Works, Ltd., Chalfont, Pennsylvania]; purchased by MFAH, 2017.
Exhibition History"India Through the Camera's Eye," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 7–August 12, 2018.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Printed in green, recto, below image: Cabinet // BOURNE & SHEPHERD // BS // Portrait // PHOTOGRAPHERS // Marion, Imp Paris.
Inscribed in black ink, verso, top: A Monsieur de Leymarie // souvenir amical d’une // voyage aux India // Valentine de Marie [Marey?]
Inscribed in black ink, verso, top: A Monsieur de Leymarie // souvenir amical d’une // voyage aux India // Valentine de Marie [Marey?]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Bourne & Shepherd
c. 1875
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2017.243
Samuel Bourne
1863–1870
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2017.360
Samuel Bourne
1860s
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2018.4.A,.B
William Elliott Debenham
1870s–1880s
Albumen silver print from glass negative
78.137.3
late 19th century
Album of albumen silver prints from glass negatives
2019.240
Geoffroy de Ruillé
c. 1865
Albumen silver print from glass negative
2022.203
1800–1899
Wood and gold leaf
97.1286.A,.B