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David Octavius Hill

(1802-1870), Landscape and portrait painter; pioneer photographer

Sitter associated with 22 portraits
Artist associated with 382 portraits
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson were among the first in the world to grasp the artistic possibilities of photography. They were brought together at the Disruption of the Church of Scotland in 1843, a significant event that laid the foundations for the Free Church of Scotland. Adamson photographed the participants as studies for a proposed painting by Hill, but the two men quickly realised the potential of the new medium as an end in itself and not just as a means to an end. Between 1843 and Adamson's death in 1848, they made over 3,000 calotype images, of Edinburgh's great and good, of fisherfolk and soldiers, of visiting celebrities and of landscapes and buildings.

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Sophia Finlay; Harriet Farnie, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(161)

Sophia Finlay; Harriet Farnie

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(161)

Harriet Farnie; Annie Farnie, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(162)

Harriet Farnie; Annie Farnie

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(162)

Sophia Finlay; Harriet Farnie, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(165)

Sophia Finlay; Harriet Farnie

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(165)

James Fillans with his two daughters, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(120)

James Fillans with his two daughters

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(120)

Finlay, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(96)

Finlay

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(96)

John Hope Finlay, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(174)

John Hope Finlay

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(174)

Sophia Finlay, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(118)

Sophia Finlay

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(118)

Alexander Campbell Fraser, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(51)

Alexander Campbell Fraser

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843
NPG P6(51)

Justine Gallie (née Monro), by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(110)

Justine Gallie (née Monro)

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(110)

John Gibson, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(42)

John Gibson

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(42)

Mr Moir; John Gibson, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(154)

Mr Moir; John Gibson

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(154)

William Govan, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(62)

William Govan

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(62)

Andrew Gray, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(85)

Andrew Gray

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(85)

Master Grierson, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(179)

Master Grierson

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(179)

George Gunn, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(44)

George Gunn

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(44)

George Gunn, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(78)

George Gunn

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843-1848
NPG P6(78)

Thomas Guthrie, by David Octavius Hill, and  Robert Adamson - NPG P6(29)

Thomas Guthrie

by David Octavius Hill, and Robert Adamson
calotype, 1843
NPG P6(29)

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