Monday 29th September | 6pm
Little Woman: The Art of Being Jane Wigley, Newcastle’s First Photographer
A talk with Kelvin Wilson
Jane Wigley, one of Britain´s first female photographers, and the first to open (in 1845) a portrait studio in boomtown Newcastle, is today, as she was then, disregarded as a footnote. The pictures she took appeared lost, her life´s story without bookends. New research however illuminates the unique shaping behind Jane Wigley´s character– for the soldier´s daughter had spent much of her childhood in the company of a robot, an invisible girl, and an apparition with bright pink eyes, before coming out into the world herself as a nightingale. Indeed, Jane Wigley enjoyed a full, even brazen life before devoting her energy to the world´s newest wonder, photography.
In his presentation, the speaker will present to the Newcastle audience several portraits now believed to have been taken by Wigley in the town, 180 years ago.
Kelvin Wilson is an archaeological illustrator working for museums and publishers. Research into early photographers led him, amongst others, to catalog the life and work of John Sherrington, a calotypist who like himself once emigrated from northern England to the Netherlands.
A LIVE Lit & Phil Event | £8/£6 (concession)
(If you would prefer to book directly over the phone, please call the Library Desk team on 0191 232 0192 and they will be happy to help)
