Lewis Carroll

A man of many talents, Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was a distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Christ Church College, Oxford, and a successful author of children's books. Long before he published the famous Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Carroll was a dedicated and prolific photographer, creating approximately 3,000 images during his twenty-five years of photographic activity. He is mostly remembered for his exceptional photographs of children, which include portraits of Alice Liddell, the inspiration behind his classic book. Carroll also used to compile his photographs into albums and send them to major cultural figures in Victorian society, in hopes that they might want similar portraits of themselves or their children. His photographs thus include sitters such as the family of the Pre-Raphaelite painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, and Alfred Lord Tennyson, among others. His work also features portraits of family members and close friends as well as landscapes and still lifes, demonstrating the remarkable extent and complexity of Carroll's photographic art. His work has become embedded deeply in modern culture, influencing many artists. His photographs have seen a recent resurgence in popularity, demonstrating their importance to the history of photography. Carroll is now considered one of the greatest Victorian photographers. Anne Higonnet's thoughtful discussion of Carroll, as a photographer and as a prominent member of Victorian society, offers new insight into his relationships with his sitters in the light of the social conventions of the time. It also emphasizes Carroll's unique,dreamlike vision of childhood.