Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In

Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In draws parallels between two of the most significant practitioners in the history of photography, presenting fresh research, rare vintage prints, and previously unseen archival works.

'I feel that photographs can either document and record reality or they can offer images as an alternative to everyday life: places for the viewer to dream in.' – Francesca Woodman, 1980

Living and working over a century apart, Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879) and Francesca Woodman (1958–1981) experienced very different ways of making and understanding photographs. Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In accompanies the exhibition of the same name opening at the National Portrait Gallery, London, in March 2024. Spanning the careers of both artists, the beautifully illustrated catalogue includes their best-known photographs as well as less familiar images. The exhibition works are arranged into eight thematic sections with feature essays, offering an accessible, engaging opportunity to consider both artists in a new light.

This publication presents the artists’ exploration of portraiture as a ‘dream space’. It makes new connections between their work, which pushed the boundaries of the photographic medium and experimented with ideas of beauty, symbolism, transformation and storytelling to produce some of art history’s most compelling and admired photographs.

About the Author

Magdalene Keaney is Curator at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. She was Senior Curator, Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 2018–2022. Recent contributions to publications include Women at Work: 1900 to Now (National Portrait Gallery, London, 2023), Yevonde: Life and Colour (National Portrait Gallery, London, 2023) and 100 Fashion Icons (National Portrait Gallery, London, 2019).

Helen Ennis is Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Art History and Art Theory at the Australian National University, Canberra. A photo historian and writer specialising in women photographers and writing women’s biographies, she was the recipient of the 2021 Royal Photographic Society Dudley Medal for her contribution to the history of photography. Recent publications include the award-winning biography Olive Cotton: A Life in Photography (Fourth Estate, 2019).

Katarina Jerinic is the Collections Curator at the Woodman Family Foundation and an artist. She was the curator of the Estate of Francesca Woodman for more than a decade prior, during which time she facilitated numerous international exhibitions of and publications on Woodman’s work. She recently contributed the text for Francesca Woodman: The Artist’s Books (London: Mack, 2023).