Girls in Front of Mirrors by Lady Clementina Hawarden

Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, née Clementina Elphinstone Fleeming (1822 – 1865) commonly known as Lady Clementina Hawarden, was a noted English amateur portrait photographer of the Victorian Era.

She turned to photography in late 1856 or, probably, in early 1857, whilst living on the family estate in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. A move to London in 1859 allowed her to set up a studio in her elegant home in South Kensington. There she took many of the characteristic portraits for which she is principally remembered. Many include her adolescent daughters Isabella Grace, Clementina and Florence Elizabeth. The furniture and characteristic decor of an upper-class London home was removed in order to create mise-en-scene images and theatrical poses within the first floor of her home. Hawarden produced albumen prints from wet-plate collodion negatives, a method commonly used at the time

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

Lady Clementina Hawarden, unknown date via

A Collection of Victorian Era Portraits by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1860s)

Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, née Clementina Elphinstone Fleeming (1822 – 1865), commonly known as Lady Clementina Hawarden, was a noted English portrait amateur photographer of the Victorian Era, producing over 800 photographs mostly of her adolescent daughter.

A photograph of a young woman in a dancing costume, possibly Isabella Hawarden (b. 1846), taken by Clementina, Lady Hawarden, in about 1863 © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum via

A photograph of Isabella Grace Hawarden (b. 1846) taken by her mother, Clementina, Lady Hawarden, in about 1862 © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum via

Two women by window, one standing and one kneeling. A photograph of two young girls, probably Clementina (b. 1847) and Florence Hawarden (b. 1849), taken by Clementina, Lady Hawarden, in about 1860 © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum via

Portrait of ‘Clementina Maude’ by Lady Clementina Hawarden, albumen print, 1863, woman reading seated beside window © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum via

Woman on balcony. A photograph of Clementina Hawarden (b. 1847), taken by her mother, Viscountess Clementina Hawarden in about 1862 © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum via

Beautiful Victorian Portraits by Lady Clementina Hawarden

Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822 – 1865) was a noted portrait photographer of the Victorian Era.

She turned to photography in late 1857 or early 1858, whilst living on the estate of her husband’s family in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. A move to London in 1859 allowed her to set up a studio in her elegant home in South Kensington.

The furniture and characteristic decor of an upper-class London home was removed in order to create mise-en-scène images and theatrical poses within the first floor of her home – Hawarden’s characteristic portraits include her daughters Isabella Grace, Clementina, and Florence Elizabeth.

Hawarden produced albumen prints from wet-plate collodion negatives, a method commonly used at the time. Her work was widely acclaimed for its “artistic excellence”. Hawarden was considered an amateur photographer and while appreciated for her work, never became widely known as a photographer. Her photographic years were brief but prolific. Hawarden produced over eight hundred photographs from 1857-1864 before her sudden death. she died after suffering from pneumonia for one week, aged 42. It has been suggested that her immune system was weakened by constant contact with the photographic chemicals.

Her work is likened to Julia Margaret Cameron, another Victorian female photographer.

A photograph that is possibly a self-portrait of Clementina, Lady Hawarden, taken in about 1862 via

Isabella by Clementina, Lady Hawarden via

Isabella by Lady Clementina Hawarden via

Clementina reading while sitting at the window wearing some kind of fancy dress or theatrical costume, ca. 1862-63 by Lady Clementina Hawarden via

Clementina, reading a book by Clementina, Lady Hawarden via