LA spot for city pictures
A MAN described as one of the leading photographers of 19th century Glasgow is to be championed by one of the world’s most famous museums.
The J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is stage a major show of the work of Thomas Annan, who made many photographs of Glasgow in the Victorian era and chronicled its many changes, in a show from May 23.
The Getty said it is the first exhibition to survey Annan’s prolific career, covering 25 years, as both a photographer and a printer.
The exhibition includes more than 100 photographs and aims to “highlight the breadth of his output and the extent of his contributions”, according to the curator.
Many show the slums of Glasgow as it was, tenements on the verge of demolition, as well as landscapes by the photographer who lived from 1829 to 1887.
He documented the areas of the city which were due to be affected by the Glasgow City Improvements Act of 1867.
Among the projects he captured were the relocation of the University of Glasgow, the re-navigation of the River Clyde, the construction of Queen’s Dock at Glasgow harbour, and the beautification of Glasgow Cathedral.
Amanda Maddox, curator of the show, added: “Though a pioneer in his field, Annan has remained a relatively margin- alized figure in the history of photography.”
Annan opened his own photographic firm in Glasgow in 1857 and remained active until his death three decades later.
Initially Annan worked on studio portraiture and reproductions of artwork to landscapes, but he also became a documentarian of Glasgow and its outskirts.
Near the outset of his career, Annan was tasked with documenting the construction of a 35-mile long aqueduct — located in a picturesque wooded glen called the Trossachs — from Loch Katrine to Glasgow.