Hugh Miller and the Gravestone

The photographs of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, taken in Edinburgh between 1843 and 1847, were arguably the first to explore the truthful and aesthetic properties of photography, beyond its powers as an accurate form of reproduction. The largely undocumented friendship between D. O. Hill, the landscape painter and photographer, and Hugh Miller, was based on an evident mutual admiration. This appears initially in the photographs of him taken by Hill and Adamson in 1843 and 1844, and in one of the very earliest critical articles on photography, written by Miller in 1843 from this direct experience as a sitter and from discussion with the photographers. This article is intended to offer a cross-cultural approach to images generally examined for their artistry. The original intention behind the photographs was sophisticated beyond the concern to make an attractive picture, and was meant to address the individual, his nature and his concerns. The portraits show us one of the most significant geologists of his day, and should be seen within the historic context of that time. They are museum objects, which can be read for their visual and intellectual impact.