Deck Scene of the Great Eastern
1857 · albumen print from wet collodion negative
Image: 28.4 x 36 cm (11 3/16 x 14 3/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
Cleveland Museum of Art
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Robert Howlett
1831
PhotographyPhotography
Representation
None documented
1
Institutional Exhibitions
7
Works in Collection
11
Assets Indexed
2
Authority-backed Facts
0
Publications Referenced
90%
Profile Completeness
Cultural Positioning
Movements
- • Photography
Related Artists
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Selected Institutional Exhibitions
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From the Gilman Collection: Photographs Preserved in Ink
Museum of Modern Art, New York
1984–1985
About
Why this artist matters now
Robert Howlett was a British photographer of the 1850s who pioneered early documentary and industrial photography. Working with the wet collodion process, he created stark, formally composed images of engineering subjects and public events, including the construction of Brunel's steamship, the Great Eastern. His work established photography as a tool for technical and social documentation during the medium's infancy. Howlett died at age 27, leaving a compact but influential body of work that shaped Victorian photographic practice.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago
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Photography
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12 in graph
Institutional
Museum Collections
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Artworks (7)
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Movements and affiliations
Institutional
Representation & Collections
In collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In collection
Cleveland Museum of Art
In collection
Museum of Modern Art
New York, US
In collection
National Gallery of Art
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