Meer in Ugbrooke Park te Chudleigh c. 1850s - 1860s

Editor: This is "Meer in Ugbrooke Park te Chudleigh," a photograph by Francis Bedford, dating from the 1850s or 60s. It’s quite a peaceful scene; the reflection of the trees on the water is so still. What's your take on this work? Curator: The serenity you observe is intentional, yet it hides the immense labor embedded in its creation. Think of the process: the meticulous preparation of the glass plate negative, the complex chemistry, the printing process. It suggests a growing accessibility to landscape photography beyond elite circles. What material evidence can you find of that? Editor: Well, the description on the side speaks to "Devonshire Illustrated" — suggesting these were made for popular consumption and maybe mass distribution. Curator: Precisely! Bedford’s work highlights a shift in photographic consumption. This photograph wasn’t solely for art’s sake, but served a didactic purpose. It offered views of landscapes otherwise inaccessible, commodifying nature. How do you see the landscape itself being treated as a material or resource? Editor: I guess the way the trees are arranged—neat, tidy. The "wildness" of nature is being contained and framed in this view. Also, the people... are those people by the edge of the lake, included perhaps to indicate scale or imply it’s a place for leisure activities, a controlled environment made for enjoying scenery? Curator: Exactly. The act of photographing a scene like this transformed a landscape into a commodity, readily consumed as a souvenir or a picturesque ideal. It served to reinforce Victorian notions of land ownership and the picturesque. So much meaning tied up into its production, distribution, and its message about controlling our relationship to our natural landscape. Editor: It’s fascinating how looking at the process and social context opens up a whole other layer of interpretation beyond the simple, pretty scene. I hadn’t considered it that way before. Curator: Indeed, by interrogating the materials and means of production, we unveil the complex relationship between art, labor, and social values inherent in this photograph.