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Century British Photography and the Case of Walter Benington by Robert William Crow

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Century British Photography and the Case of Walter Benington by Robert William Crow Reputations made and lost: the writing of histories of early twentieth- century British photography and the case of Walter Benington by Robert William Crow A thesis submitted to the University of Gloucestershire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Technology January 2015 Abstract Walter Benington (1872-1936) was a major British photographer, a member of the Linked Ring and a colleague of international figures such as F H Evans, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen and Alvin Langdon Coburn. He was also a noted portrait photographer whose sitters included Albert Einstein, Dame Ellen Terry, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and many others. He is, however, rarely noted in current histories of photography. Beaumont Newhall’s 1937 exhibition Photography 1839-1937 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York is regarded by many respected critics as one of the foundation-stones of the writing of the history of photography. To establish photography as modern art, Newhall believed it was necessary to create a direct link between the master-works of the earliest photographers and the photographic work of his modernist contemporaries in the USA. He argued that any work which demonstrated intervention by the photographer such as the use of soft-focus lenses was a deviation from the direct path of photographic progress and must therefore be eliminated from the history of photography. A consequence of this was that he rejected much British photography as being “unphotographic” and dangerously irrelevant. Newhall’s writings inspired many other historians and have helped to perpetuate the neglect of an important period of British photography. As a result, the work of key photographers such as Walter Benington is now virtually unknown. Benington’s central involvement with the Linked Ring and his national and international exhibition successes demonstrate his significance within post-1890 British photography. Recent moves in the writing of histories of photography have called for the exploration of previously unknown archives and collections. A detailed examination of a cross-section of Benington’s work will illustrate that he was a photographer of great distinction and marked individuality fully worthy of a major reappraisal. i Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of the University of Gloucestershire and is original except where indicated by specific reference in the text. No part of the thesis has been submitted as part of any other academic award. The thesis has not been presented to any other education institution in the United Kingdom or overseas. Any views expressed in the thesis are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University. Signed …………………………………………….. Date 29 January 2015 ii Copyright statement and acknowledgements I confirm that Copyright permissions have been obtained for the images and other relevant material used within the Thesis unless indicated * *The electronic version of the Thesis excludes images and material for which Copyright permissions have not been obtained. Thanks are due to the following for their help over Copyright permissions. The Amateur Photographer, London; Archive of Modern Conflict, London; De Montfort University, Leicester; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; Georgia O’Keefe Museum, Santa Fe, NM; Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra,; National Portrait Gallery (NPG), London; David Spencer, Photo-Seed; Royal Photographic Society / National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library (RPS); Tate Gallery, London. Particular thanks go to those who have contributed images from private Benington Collections. My thanks go especially to Dr Mike Weaver, Emeritus Fellow, Linacre College, Oxford, for his continuing interest in Walter Benington. My thanks also go to Prof. Mark Antliff, Duke Unversity, Durham, NC; Colin Harris of the Bodleian Library, Oxford; Brian Liddy and other colleagues at the National Media Museum in Bradford; Graham Light, Cricklade, Wiltshire; Dr Richard Lock-Pullan, University of Birmingham; Barbara Moore of the Archive of Modern Conflict, London; Terence Pepper and Clare Freestone of NPG, London; Dr Michael Pritchard, Director General of the RPS in Bath; Jon Wood, Kirstie Gregory and Claire Mayho of the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. Thanks are also to other colleagues from Libraries, Galleries and Archives across the country. My special thanks go to my Supervisory team of Dr Sharon Harper, Richard Salkeld, Nick Sargeant and Dr Paul Shaw iii Table of Contents Chapter I 1 Introduction – Discovering Walter Benington Chapter II 18 Bias and the writing of histories of photography Chapter III 46 Newhall’s Photography, 1839-1937 and British Photography Chapter IV 82 Walter Benington and British Photography from 1890 Chapter V 112 Walter Benington and British Pictorialism Chapter VI 145 Walter Benington and his post-Pictorialist work Chapter VII 189 British Photography from 1890: critical views from 1920 onwards Chapter VIII 214 British Photography from 1890: the exhibition record to the present Chapter IX 247 Conclusion – Recovering Walter Benington Bibliography 270 Appendix 347 Walter Benington: plates from original prints in the RPS collection List of Tables 3.1 Photography 1839-1937 – Indicative summary of Lenders 54 by nationality 3.2 Photography 1839-1937 – Indicative summary of 54 Photographers by nationality 3.3 British representation in Photography 1839-1937 55-56 8.1 Selected exhibitions and studies of British photography from 215 1970 8.2 Summary of Benington’s “visibility” in selected exhibitions 244 and studies of British photography from 1970 iv List of illustrations within the text Please note: Images provided by courtesy Royal Photographic Society/National Media Museum/Science & Society Picture Library are noted throughout as “photo: RPS” Images from private sources are noted as “photo: © Benington Collections” Images for which Copyright permissions have not been obtained from the rights holders are indicated * and are redacted in the on-line text. Fig. 1.1 Walter Benington, The Church of England (1903) x Platinum. 195 x 145 mm. RPS collection, gift of A L Coburn (1930) (photo: RPS). See also Plate I Fig. 3.1 Beaumont Newhall, Installation photograph of Herbert 51 Matter’s entrance installation for ‘Photography 1839-1937.’ Gelatine silver print, 1937 (photo: Museum of Modern Art, New York)* Fig. 3.2 Willi Ruge - Poster for FiFo - Film und Foto - 51 Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds, Stuttgart, 1929 (photo: Museum of Modern Art, New York)* Fig. 3.3 Beaumont Newhall. Photography 1839–1937 (New York: 52 MoMA, 1937) Front Cover. (photo: Museum of Modern Art, New York)* Fig. 3.4 Beaumont Newhall, Photography, 1839-1937 (New York: 52 MoMA) Title page (photo: Museum of Modern Art, New York)* Fig. 4.1 George Davison, The Onion Field (1889) Photogravure print 85 154 x 205 mm. Gift of Alvin Langdon Coburn GEH NEG: 23472. 67:0080:0006 (photo: George Eastman House) Fig. 4.2 H P Robinson, Morning Mists (1893) from Die Kunst in der 86 Photographie 1902 (photo: courtesy PhotoSeed Archive) Fig. 4.3 A Horsley Hinton, Threatening Weather (1901) from 86 Photographische Rundschau (photo: courtesy PhotoSeed Archive) Fig. 4.4 Walter Benington, Fleet Street (1897) from Amateur 88 Photographer 16 June 1908: 608. See also Plate II Fig. 4.5 Fred Holland Day, Nubian Chief (1897) Platinum print 207 97 x 184 mm. Gift of 3M Company: ex-collection Louis Walton Sipley GEH NEGS: 28794 25877. 77:0211:0001 (photo: George Eastman House) Fig. 4.6 Edward Steichen, In Memoriam (1901, printed 1904) 97 Gum over platinum print 498 x 403 mm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1933. Accession Number: 33.43.48 (photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) * Fig. 4.7 Fred Holland Day, Beauty is Truth (1900) Photogravure. 97 187 x 172 mm, The Camera Club, New York. Gift of Albert Boni. Object number 115.1944.1 (photo: Museum of Modern Art, New York)* Fig. 4.8 Walter Benington, Keeper of the Harem (nd) from Amateur 98 Photographer, 16 June 1908: 598 v Fig. 4.9 Walter Benington, Over the Hills and Far Away (1901) (aka 103 Across the Valley) Platinum 84 x 112 mm. RPS collection, gift of F H Evans 1937 (photo: RPS) See also Plate III Fig. 4.10 Walter Benington, Rye Marshes (c. 1907) 104 Gum 108 x 195 mm RPS collection, gift of F H Evans (1924) (photo: RPS) See also Plate IV Fig. 4.11 Walter Benington, The Mere (c. 1902) (aka The Silent Pool) 106 Platinum 110 x 202 mm RPS collection, gift of F H Evans (1924) (photo: RPS) See also Plate V Fig. 5.1 The Photographic News, 20 July 1906 (photo: © Benington 112 Collections) Fig. 5.2 Walter Benington, Among the Housetops (1900) Gum 350 x 113 240 mm RPS collection, gift of F H Evans (1937) (photo: RPS) See also Plate VII Fig. 5.3 Walter Benington, The Church of England (1903) Platinum 114 192 x 143 mm RPS collection, gift of F H Evans 1937 (photo: RPS) See also Plate VIII Fig. 5.4 Walter Benington, After the Storm (1906) (aka A Tangle 115 after the Storm) Gum 280 x 190 mm RPS collection, acquired 1928 (photo: RPS) See also Plate IX Fig. 5.5 Walter Benington, The Church of England – Morning (1903) 118 Gravure 240 x 178 mm (photo: © Benington Collections) Fig. 5.6 Walter Benington, From a roof in Shoe Lane – Afternoon 118 (1903) Gravure 235 x 180 mm (photo: © Benington Collections) Fig. 5.7 A L Coburn, St. Paul's from Ludgate Circus (1907) from 122 London, 1909, Introduction by Hilaire Belloc, plate 20. Photogravure print 385 x 287 mm. George Eastman House L1982:0064:0001 (photo: George Eastman House) Fig. 5.8 Paul Strand, Telegraph Poles (1916) Photogravure off an 127 original negative, 202 x 137 mm from Camera Work, October 1916, 48:27 Purchased 1976 Accession No: NGA 76.333.48.3 (photo: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra) Fig.
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