A Sea of Steps, Wells Cathedral
Frederick Henry Evans, A Sea of Steps, Wells Cathedral, 1903 (negative); ca. 1910 (print), gelatin silver print, Gift of Peat Bakke in memory of Paul and Jayne Wilhelm, public domain, 2010.84
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
A Sea of Steps, Wells Cathedral
- Artist
- Date
1903 (negative); ca. 1910 (print)
- Medium
gelatin silver print
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
image/sheet: 9 1/8 in x 7 1/2 in
- Collection Area
Photography
- Category
Photographs
- Object Type
photograph
- Culture
British
- Credit Line
Gift of Peat Bakke in memory of Paul and Jayne Wilhelm
- Accession Number
2010.84
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
Frederick Henry Evans, a respected London bookseller, sold his business in 1898 in order to turn his full attention to creating photographs. His images of cathedrals and England and France earned him a reputation as one of the premier architectural photographers of the early twentieth century. Evans preferred to spend days or even weeks studying his subjects at various times of day to capture a particular lighting and compositional effect. A Sea of Steps, Wells Cathedral, one of Evans’s most famous images, demonstrates his strict attention to details of light and space. It also reveals his occasional manipulation of post-camera prints: unlike other versions of this photograph, Evans heavily retouched the light passing through the windows at the top left of the composition, thereby moving attention to the softly undulating steps at center as well as the soothing light that emerges from the arched doorway.
- Exhibitions
2011 Riches of a City: Portland Collects Portland Art Museum
2012 Emerging: New Photography Acquisitions Portland Art Museum