Vivien and Merlin
- Date
- 1874
- Material
- Albumen print
- Classification
- Photographs
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image: 11 15/16 x 10 in. (30.3 x 25.4 cm)
mount: 17 3/8 x 13 1/8 in. (44.1 x 33.3 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Shop Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 72:2004
NOTES
The preeminent Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron costumed her friends and family and used dramatic lighting effects to create imaginative scenes. Vivien and Merlin is an evocative enactment of a passage from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s epic poem, Idylls of the King. Capturing the moment of betrayal in Tennyson’s poem, this image depicts the seductive Vivien casting a spell over the magician Merlin as he falls into a trance. Cameron’s husband, Charles, and her maid, Agnes Mangles posed for the two characters in this scene.
Provenance
2004/05/19 - 2004
Vintage Works, Ltd. (Alexander Novak), Chalfont, PA, purchased at auction at Christie's, London, May 19, 2004, lot no. 68 [1]
2004 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Vintage Works, Ltd. [2]
Notes:
Main source of information was a conversation with Alex Novak representing Vintage Works, Ltd., September 30, 2004 [SLAM document files].
[1] The provenance of the photograph prior to the Christie's sale is not noted in the auction catalogue ["Photographs." Christie's, London, May 19, 2004, lot no. 68].
[2] Invoice from Vintage Works, Ltd. dated October 27, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 30, 2004.
Vintage Works, Ltd. (Alexander Novak), Chalfont, PA, purchased at auction at Christie's, London, May 19, 2004, lot no. 68 [1]
2004 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Vintage Works, Ltd. [2]
Notes:
Main source of information was a conversation with Alex Novak representing Vintage Works, Ltd., September 30, 2004 [SLAM document files].
[1] The provenance of the photograph prior to the Christie's sale is not noted in the auction catalogue ["Photographs." Christie's, London, May 19, 2004, lot no. 68].
[2] Invoice from Vintage Works, Ltd. dated October 27, 2004 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 30, 2004.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.