The Continuity of Landscape Representation: The Photography of Edward Chambré Hardman (1898-1988) Peter Hagerty A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy This research programme was carried out in collaboration with the E.Chambré Hardman Trust, Liverpool. May 1999 Abstract The major source of material for the research was the archive of the E.Chambré Hardman’s Trust. This archive comprises Hardman’s bequest of photographs, negatives and associated ephemera. Prior to the present research the author had undertaken extensive ordering and conservation of this collection and the present work therefore builds upon this earlier research. The research divides Hardman’s oeuvre into portraiture and landscape, along lines that he had determined by ordering and concern. The thesis focuses exclusively on his landscape photography. The representation of landscape is a recognised genre within the history of art. The thesis locates the landscape photography of the British photographer Edward Chambré Hardman (1898-1988) within the histories of landscape photography and to the broader genre of landscape representation by British artists during the first half of the twentieth century. The research describes the representations of landscape made by painters prior to the invention of photography as providing the initial subject model for photographers. Subsequently photographers wrote their own history of landscape representation and it is to this tradition to which Hardman is heir. Using Hardman’s notebooks, diaries, letters and collected ephemera the research constructs an accurate chronology for Hardman’s life and the sequential production of his landscape photographs. From this reference the research establishes an overview of his photography and points to significant changes in working methods which mark periods in his development as an artist. The research then makes comparison between Hardman and the work of his peers and other notable photographers of the period. The thesis further locates Hardman among a small number of twentieth century British artists whose work is included in the broader canon of landscape art. Comparisons of date, subject and the changing style of Hardman’s work suggest that a number of his landscape photographs should be considered as important and representative of the period. The thesis concludes that Hardman’s landscapes are a unique example of the art of photography and should be considered as representative of salon photography during the period 1930-1950. Furthermore the research finds correspondence between Hardman’s work and that of subsequent generations of British landscape photographers. Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to thank those that have supported and contributed to this research. First to John Moores University who allowed me the time for the research to take place, and in particular the staff at Liverpool Art School who provided a supportive environment in which to undertake the work. The research could not have taken place without the support of the E.Chambré Hardman Trust, its archive provided the major source of research material and I would like to thank board members past and present notably Colin Ford and Edwin Woolf for their intellectual encouragement. I would also like to thank Timothy Stevens whose early appreciation of Hardman’s work was a great support. I would also like to thank Anne Gleave, the archivist at the E.Chambré Hardman Trust for her perseverance. Pam Roberts and the librarians at the Royal Photographic Society, for their assistance and Christine Redmond for her hospitality and enthusiasm. The greatest part of my thanks must go to my supervisory team. In particular my Director of Studies Professor Merilyn Smith, whose insight and belief in the research was an invaluable support, and to Dr. Timothy Ashplant for his clarity of thought and rigorous attention to detail. The work is dedicated to Lawrie, for whom this research contributes in part, to the cultural heritage of his generation. Introduction CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 6 The Continuity of Landscape Representation. 10 Edward Chambré Hardman photographer. 13 Hardman's Landscape Photographs. 15 1.THE CONTINUITY OF LANDSCAPE REPRESENTATION 18 Landscape as Reference 18 The Representation of Landscape by Artists. 22 Landscapes of Light 25 The First Generation. 32 Art Photography 39 Modern Photography 46 2. A HARDMAN CHRONOLOGY 53 Archaeological Background 53 The Research Source Material 57 Hardman Chronology 62 The Family Tradition, from Dublin to India. 62 Liverpool and the Sandon Society. 68 Travels by Cycle and Train. 78 Burrell & Hardman: Liverpool and Chester. 83 The Rodney Street Studio. 89 The Late Years. 94 3. THE LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHS. 102 The Inheritance. 102 The Thirties 111 Introduction The Post War Years 119 The Fifties 125 CONCLUSION 129 NOTES. 143 Introduction 143 Chapter 1 The Continuity of Landscape Representation 143 Chapter 2 A Hardman Chronology 159 Chapter 3 The Landscape Photographs 182 Conclusion 196 BIBLIOGRAPHY 197 Appendix A 206 Hardman Chronology 206 Appendix B 208 Exhibited and published photographs and articles by Hardman. 208 Appendix C 222 Published Articles about Hardman 222 Appendix D 223 Audio & Videotapes about Hardman 223 Introduction Introduction The thesis locates the landscape photographs made by E. Chambré Hardman (1898-1988) within a history of landscape representation. The thesis describes the historical precedents for Hardman’s landscape photography, and specifically locates his work in the context of British twentieth century photography. In a broader context the thesis argues that the representation of landscape by visual artists, especially painters and photographers, have much in common. Historically the landscape has been a source for poets, writers, sculptors, painters and composers. This historical view, including the formal and technical considerations inherited by generations of artists, it is argued, can provide evidence to contextualise Hardman’s landscape photography. The photographer Edward Chambré Hardman has until recently received little attention in any critical history of photography. The thesis argues that Hardman should be considered as representative of British landscape photography during the period 1930-1955. Hardman was born in Ireland but came to live in Liverpool, England, aged 23 following service in the Indian Army. The city of Liverpool became his adopted home, from which he would explore on foot, bicycle and motor car the landscape of Britain. Hardman an autodidact photographer, became a highly respected professional portraitist and an acknowledged landscape photographer within the circles of the Royal Photographic Society. During Hardman's professional life as a studio portraitist, he photographed tens of thousands of Liverpool residents and visiting personalities. The research does not however explore this part of his career but investigates instead his landscape photography. The division of his work into landscapes and portraits, is not an Introduction arbitrary one. It reflects Hardman’s ordering of his oeuvre; comparatively such a division also has historical precedent, the oeuvres of other artists cited in the research. This separation between portraiture and landscape is important to the thesis, which seeks to locate Hardman’s landscapes within a tradition of photography, practised as a medium of personal expression. The descriptions "professional" and "artist" have been unusually problematic for critical overviews of histories of photography, where debate has sought to arbitrate whether the motive of the photographer - the "why", is important or not? The research therefore divides Hardman's oeuvre, to differentiate two poles of practice, which it will be argued differ more by ethos than by subject. Hardman’s oeuvre includes a body of landscape photographs, which is marked by its state of presentational completeness. This group of some two hundred works is used as the core material for the present research, and is described as his landscape photography. In conversation with the author Hardman described his photography as the "making of pictures". By drawing on other examples of landscape, the research describes the concerns and values, which Hardman shares with earlier artists, his contemporaries, and a subsequent generation of photographers. I first met Chambré Hardman in the winter of 1979 when he was in his eightieth year. Social Services were concerned that a man of his age should be living in a large house, filled chaotically with cardboard boxes and paper ephemera and, to their knowledge, having no living relatives. I was at this time Exhibitions Director of the Open Eye Photography Gallery in Liverpool and was invited to advise on the value of the cardboard boxes and paper ephemera. Introduction From the outset it was clear that Hardman’s house, which was also his studio, offered an important historical resource for any future reconstruction of the history of professional photography in Britain during the early twentieth century. While it was easy to see that the studio equipment, darkroom apparatus, ancillary workrooms and ledgers were a treasure trove of professional practice, it was his photographs which retained my interest over the subsequent years. Had Hardman only been a portrait photographer, his work would perhaps have only been of local interest. The discovery that he was also a landscape