Roger Fenton

Best known for his series of photographs taken in the field during the Crimean War. He first studied painting but went on to qualify as a solicitor in 1847, practising Law until 1864 but with photography increasingly consuming his time. The publisher Thomas Agnew commissioned Fenton to photograph the Crimean War in 1855 because of his recent experiments with Collodion, the most suitable process then available. He made over 306 photographs of individual portraits and scenes which were sold individually and in bound sets. Despite much admiration Fenton decided to return to his original profession as a solicitor, discouraged by the vast increase of photographic business.

Text © National Portrait Gallery, London