AV News 175 - February 2009
David Hill and Robert Adamson
Jill K. Bunting CPAGB
The partnership of David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and Robert Adamson
(1821-1848) is one of the most significant in the history of photography.
In 1843, four years after the announcement of photography to the public,
Robert Adamson established his studio in Rock House, on Calton Hill in
Edinburgh. It was to be the site of some of the most sophisticated photography
ever created, in early years through to the present day.
Robert's brother, Dr John Adamson, was a colleague and close friend of Sir
David Brewster who had a unique relationship with Fox Talbot. The two
scientists shared information and experiences in photography with a freedom
and openness unknown elsewhere in the early days of the art. Robert trained
as an engineer which was critical at a time when all photographic materials
were made by the photographer himself.
The painter, David Octavius Hill, was highly popular and influential in the
Edinburgh artistic community. His brother, Alexander Hill, was a premier
publisher of prints. Between them, they had extensive contacts with society in
Edinburgh and beyond, including Brewster.
On 23rd May, 1843, 400 ministers, a third of the entire church, signed a
Deed of Demission, resigning their livings and establishing the Free Church of
Scotland. This act of separation deeply impressed many, including David Hill.
He announced the undertaking of a great commemorative painting, to include
all those present, which would be the basis of an engraving. As the many
ministers would soon scatter throughout Scotland, it was Brewster who
suggested a way to make the recording practical. Brewster introduced Hill to
Adamson and overcame the artist's skepticism as to the value of photography.
The two men soon entered into an enthusiastic partnership.
The painting is internationally important as being the first work of art painted
with the help of photographic images. It measures 4' 8" x 12', and took Hill 23
years to complete. It has hung in the Free Presbytery Hall, The Mound,
Edinburgh, since 1866 when it was bought for £1,500.
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