Hans P. Kraus Jr. presents summer exhibition of early water and maritime photography

Source Summary

Hans P. Kraus Jr. is presenting its summer show Untroubled Waters: Navigating Early Photographs through 20 August 2026. On display are primarily British and French works by William Henry Fox Talbot, Gustave Le Gray, Charles Nègre, Paul-Marcellin Berthier, Robert Howlett, J. B. Greene, and others depicting boatyards, bridges, the seashore, and other waterways. As a Cambridge man, it is not surprising that when William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) photographed in Cambridge he turned his camera on the Bridge of Sighs. The celebrated Bridge of Sighs over the River Cam had been completed in 1831, just a few years before Talbot’s photograph. Talbot’s use of light in this picture is exquisite. He timed his exposure for that brief period during the day while the ancient college buildings on the right were in deep shadow, bringing out the bridge