invited by Caroline Underwood
Anna Atkins
Anna Atkins, born Anna Children, was a Kent based
botanist who with Constance Talbot was one of the first
two female photographers. She took the cyanotype
process that John Herschel originally created to
reproduce notes and diagrams, and developed it into
an art form. The idea of using a stencil to create images
is one that informs photography, printmaking and
graphics techniques to this day. Combining scientific
and artistic approaches creatively, Anna’s instinctive
responses to the natural world were elemental and
inspirational. Cyanotype chemica ls were used to
transform plants, water and sunlight into lasting
echoes of her relationship with nature.
South London Women Artists I’m Inside, Ring The Bell
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