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and noted that previous efforts in this direction “have
almost invariably had a basis personal to the artist re-
produced.” The board made clear that the members were
themselves amateurs,”corporately unassociated with any
particular phase of photographic endeavour” and ex-
pressed the hope that the whole series would form a true
representation of modern photographic photography.
They provided no indication that the series would be
restricted to British photographers nor any criteria for
the selection of artists or of individual images.
They were, however, were at pains to state that they
would provide no prediction on the nature or extent of
future issues, especially the single artist single issue
format. Perhaps more importantly in view of their objec-
tive, they gave a clear undertaking that all hand work on
the plates “would be scrupulously avoided.”
Signifi cant changes occurred during the life of the
series. Issue 7 was advertised as featuring the work of
J. E. Austin but he was replaced, without comment,
by Mrs Meyers. Similarly Mr Seymour Conway was
advertised for Issue 8 but replaced by Frank Sutcliffe,
again without comment.
The editorial board closed the series at Issue 8.
Responding to criticism that younger photographers
had not been represented, they stated that the series
was “a monument to great British photographers who
had brought honour to the Art.,” a signifi cant change in
direction and emphasis from their originally stated aim.
One can infer that the series was initially a commercial
success with the fi rst Issue going to reprint and the
publishers offering a premium on behalf of a subscriber
for an undamaged copy of that issue. Similarly, the pub-
lished excerpts of reviews might indicate some critical
success both for the series and the original concept.
Using either the citerion of “best photographer” or that
of “great British photographers,” it is diffi cult to under-
stand the selection of some of the artists represented
and the omission of others. While Emerson was a noted
author on the aesthetics and practice of photography,
the omission of his photographic work is highlighted
by his appearance as critic for the Cameron images.
Similarly the inclusion of Meyers appears to say more
about the social context of the editorial board than its
commitment to the best in photography. While John Add-
ington Symonds is laudatory in his comments on Meyers
portraiture, other critics found the fi gure “amateurish”
and as Fletcher noted in the RPS Journal, December
2004, “the art does not hide the art.” On the other hand it
must be noted that Symonds essay represents one of the
fi rst attempts to address photography in critical language
with a vocabulary other than that of painting or drawing.
Sun Artists appeared at a critical time in the history
of photography. George Davison (1854—1930), the
author of the essay in Issue 1 was to launch the Pic-
torialist movement with the exhibition of his image
The Onion Field at the annual exhibition of the Royal
Photographic Society in 1890. Davison later became
one of the founding members of The Brotherhood of the
Linked Ring. During this time Peter Emerson recanted
his original view that photography should seek to refl ect
human vision, stating in 1890 that photography lacked
the capability to render a natural subject accurately. It
is more likely that the fundamental change that was
occurring in photography at that time, already repre-
sented by Davison’s Onion Field and anticipated by
Sawyer’s The Castle Garth had rendered both the style
and substance of Sun Artists no longer representative
of the cutting edge of contemporary art photography.
At a different level, Sun Artists, appears to be the fi rst
attempt to showcase the work of individual artists
using the best available technologies to faithfully rep-
resent the work to a wider audience. As such it might
be seen to anticipate Alfred Steiglitz’ Camera Work.
Photogravure represented the fourth and most signifi cant
development in nineteenth century efforts to develop an
effi cient method of faithfully reproducing the photo-
graphic image on the printed page in continuous tone.
Karl V. Klič, a Czechoslovakian residing in Vienna,
utilised the Swan/Poitevin gelatinised carbon tissue
technique to produce an intermediate image on a copper
plate coated with an asphalt resin. Following exposure,
the plate was etched in acids of varying strengths to
capture the tonal range of the original. The plate was
then inked, wiped and then printed. The resultant print
was a faithful copy of the original image with the fi ne
particles of ink providing a grainless, continuous im-
age. Klič subsequently licensed the Thomas and Craig
Annan of Glasgow to use his process in England and
Scotland.
While dust grain photogravure had replaced collotype
as the preferred method of reproducing photographic
images on the printed page, it was replaced in the early
1890’s by a further Klič development, half-tone. By
1890 the introduction of the halftone process had made
photogravure virtually redundant for all but the high-
est quality reproductions of photography. Peter Henry
Emerson’s Wild life on a tidal water, (1890) used the
new half-tone process for the reproduction of his images,
although his later Marsh leaves (1895) is regarded as
the fi nest example of photogravure in a printed book.
Perhaps the best and fi nal examples of dust grain pho-
togravure for the reproduction of the work of the artist
photographer are found in Alfred Steiglitz’ Camera
Work (1903 –1917).
A facsimile edition of Sun Artists was published by
Arno Press, NY, in 1973.
Robert DeaneSee also: Klič, Karel Vaclav; Annan, James Craig;
Annan, Thomas; and Emerson, Peter Henry.