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amson combine deep shadows with the paper’s texture
to soften the transitions from the sitter’s patterned dress
to her long, curly hair and smooth face. A curl dangling
over her hand brings complexity and spontaneity to the
pose, while the shadowy area below the face directs
attention to her musing expression.
Hill and Adamson were unrivaled in their depictions
of groups and children, despite the challenge of prepar-
ing interesting compositions that could withstand long
exposure times. Their adult groupings, like “Dumbarton
Presbytery” (1845), mimic animated discussions and
other moments of camaraderie, as exchanged gazes
suggest a secret shared or an evolving debate among
participants. Their photographs of children tend to
refl ect moments of play or reverie, as in “The Gowan,”
where a girl tickles her sleeping sister, or “The Minnow
Pool,” where children peer expectantly down their fi sh-
ing pole into murky waters.
Perhaps Hill and Adamson’s greatest achievement,
however, remains their series on the fi shing families of
Newhaven, a coastal village just outside Edinburgh. The
project ran the length of their partnership and even may
have had its roots in similar subjects taken by Adam-
son and his brother in 1842. An early attempt at social
documentary photography, it was a comprehensive effort
to convey the living conditions and social relationships
of a community. To give authenticity to the endeavor,
the photographers descended on the village to depict
fi shermen tending their boats and lines along the shore
and women selling the catch in the streets.
In “Willie Liston Redding the Line” (c. 1845) a
young fi sherman leans as though ready for action, while
the taut fi shing line clenched in his hands indicates his
potential energy. Photographs like “Bringing in the
Catch” (c. 1845) or “Mrs Barbara (Johnstone) Flucker
Opening Oysters” (c. 1845) sought to capture moments
of everyday labor, despite the impossibility of instanta-
neous exposures.
Newhaven’s inhabitants perfectly suited Hill and
Adamson’s interest in quintessentially Scottish subjects,
offering a glimpse of an enterprising and fi ercely inde-
pendent traditional lifestyle in the face of rapid social
and economic change. Accompanied by scenic views of
Newhaven and its neighboring harbors on the Firth of
Forth, the series produced a study of community on a
scale that was rarely repeated before the 20th century.
While the project reinforced existing class distinctions
as much as it sought to reach beyond them, it is signi-
fi cant that the photographers often identifi ed specifi c
sitters in the titles, placing these people on the same
level as the studio’s more celebrated sitters, rather than
treating them as genre study subjects.
Hill and Adamson sold these and other photographs
through the Edinburgh gallery of Hill’s brother, Alexan-
der, and also accepted outside commissions on various
themes. Their romantically-suffused images from
Greyfriars Churchyard, for example, were originally
undertaken as a study for the painter George Harvey.
They also traveled to York, England, in September 1844,
to make portraits and architectural studies during the
meetings of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science. While these projects kept the studio busyHILL, DAVID OCTAVIUS AND ADAMSON, ROBERT
Hill, David Octavius; Robert
Adamson. Offi cer of the
92nd Gordon Highlanders
Reading to the Troops,
Edinburgh Castle.
The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, The Rubel Collection,
Purchase, Lila Acheson
Wallace, Ann Tenenbaum and
Thomas Lee, and Harriette
and Noe.