Robert Howlett
Isambard Kingdom Brunel before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern

Isambard Kingdom Brunel before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern

Public Domain

Isambard Kingdom Brunel before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern
ArtistEnglish, 1831–1858
CultureEnglish
Titles
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern
Date1857, printed 1857
MediumAlbumen silver print from glass negative
DimensionsImage: 11 1/4 × 8 9/16 in. (28.5 × 21.7 cm)
Sheet: 11 1/4 × 8 9/16 in. (28.5 × 21.7 cm)
Mount: 21 5/8 × 15 3/16 in. (55 × 38.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors
Object number2023.497
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 208
On view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was the quintessential engineer-hero of Britain’s Industrial Revolution, building railways, terminals, tunnels, dry docks, piers, and bridges. Here, he stands before the giant chains wound around huge checking drums to serve as restraints in the launching of the Great Eastern, by far the largest ship then afloat. Robert Howlett’s portrait, made the day before the ship’s planned launching, shows Brunel in mud-spattered trousers and boots, a man of self-assurance and determination, involved in all the aspects of the job.


ProvenanceEstate of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by descent; [Sotheby's London, November 6, 1987, Lot 124]; purchased by Janet Lehr, New York; consigened to Hans P. Kraus, New York; purchased by MFAH, 2023.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in pencil on mount, recto, bottom center: I Brunel

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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