Robert Howlett
Who was Robert Howlett?
British photographer (1831-1858)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Robert Howlett (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Robert Howlett (3 July 1831 – 2 December 1858) was a British photographer from Theberton, Suffolk, who became a leading figure in early photography. Despite passing away in London at the young age of twenty-seven, he left behind a remarkable collection of work that included royal assignments, war portraits, and industrial photography. This made him a key figure in nineteenth-century photography. The Illustrated Times praised him after his death as 'one of the most skillful photographers of the day,' a view that remains largely unchallenged.
He worked alongside Joseph Cundall at The Photographic Institution on New Bond Street, London, where he honed his skills and built his reputation. He showed his work at the London Photographic Society and made significant contributions to photography theory, publishing On the Various Methods of Printing Photographic Pictures upon Paper, with Suggestions for Their Preservation. This work showed his interest in not just taking photographs but also preserving them, which set him apart from many other photographers who focused solely on capturing images.
One of his most famous projects was documenting the construction of the SS Great Eastern, the world's largest steamship, for the Illustrated Times. This project produced the iconic portrait of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel standing in front of the ship's massive anchor chains. Known for its candid style and Brunel's confident, natural pose, the photograph became one of the most reproduced images of the Victorian era. Howlett also helped painter William Powell Frith by creating photographic studies for The Derby Day, displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1858, highlighting the growing connection between photography and fine art at the time.
Howlett's royal commissions included photographing the frescoes in Buckingham Palace's new drawing room and reproducing Raphael paintings for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He also created a series of portraits called 'Crimean Heroes,' showcased at the Photographic Society of London's 1857 annual exhibition. These portraits of Crimean War soldiers were among the first systematic photographic records of military figures supported by the royal family.
Howlett passed away on 2 December 1858, at twenty-seven, due to typhoid fever. At the time, some speculated his death was caused by overexposure to harmful photographic chemicals, a myth that persisted for a while. After his passing, his former partners Cundall and Downes, along with the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, published his prints, keeping his images in circulation in the following years.
Before Fame
Robert Howlett was born on July 3, 1831, in Theberton, a small village in Suffolk, England. Not much is known about his early life or education, which was common for photographers of his time as many got into the field through apprenticeships or teaching themselves rather than attending formal education. Photography was still a new art form when Howlett began learning it; the daguerreotype process was introduced in France and the calotype in Britain in 1839.
By the 1850s, photography was moving from being a scientific curiosity to a commercially viable and serious art form. It was during this time that Howlett established himself, partnering with Joseph Cundall at The Photographic Institution on New Bond Street. The era required both technical skill and artistic judgment, and Howlett showed enough of both to attract clients from newspaper editors to the royal family.
Key Achievements
- Produced the celebrated portrait of Isambard Kingdom Brunel during the construction of the SS Great Eastern for the Illustrated Times
- Received a royal commission from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to photograph frescoes and Raphael paintings at Buckingham Palace
- Created the 'Crimean Heroes' portrait series, exhibited at the Photographic Society of London's annual exhibition in 1857
- Published On the Various Methods of Printing Photographic Pictures upon Paper, with Suggestions for Their Preservation
- Provided photographic studies used by William Powell Frith in creating The Derby Day, exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1858
Did You Know?
- 01.The iconic photograph of Isambard Kingdom Brunel standing before the anchor chains of the SS Great Eastern was taken by Howlett as part of a newspaper commission, not as a formal portrait sitting.
- 02.Howlett's death was long attributed by some contemporaries to chemical exposure from photographic processes, but historical evidence points to typhoid fever as the actual cause.
- 03.He published a technical paper on preserving photographic prints, showing an awareness of the medium's archival fragility at a time when many photographers gave little thought to longevity.
- 04.Howlett supplied photographic studies directly to painter William Powell Frith, who used them as reference material for The Derby Day, one of the most celebrated British paintings of the Victorian era.
- 05.Queen Victoria and Prince Albert commissioned Howlett to photograph Raphael paintings and Buckingham Palace frescoes, making him one of the few photographers of his era to receive a direct royal artistic commission.