A longtime champion of women, Kirsty’s work shines a light on the lives of Victorian women involved in the arts, and their struggles to balance their passionate pursuits with society’s expectations. In doing so, she’s allowing us to view our own modern perceptions of women as creators and how that intersects with today’s world.
So Kirsty is uniquely suited to tell the story of Julia Margaret Cameron and Mary Hillier with the research, insight, and sensitivity it deserves. Like Cameron, she lovingly embraces the imperfections of her subjects.
Quite often when we explore the role of artist and subject, it consists of a male artist/female muse dynamic, frequently with a romantic aspect. So Kirsty’s concept of delving into the lives of Julia and Mary as creator and subject and how those roles influenced their lives, fascinated me. A work that presents a dual biography of the famed photographer and her preferred model is a rarity.
Exploring photography and pushing its limits was a consuming passion for Julia, but as her work was admired, how many viewers at the time thought about the model or wondered about her life? What impact did being the focal point in Julia’s surreal, dream-like photography have on a Victorian maid who suddenly found herself in the midst of artistic and literary luminaries?
Julia Margaret Cameron gave Mary Hillier a place of honor in her work, now Kirsty Stonell Walker extends that respect, fleshing out Mary’s life beyond the lens.
Julia used focus, light, and shadow in a very deliberate way, choosing not to create a polished photograph, but one that cultivated a dramatic, surreal quality.
She embraced smears, swirls, and imperfections that other professional photographers of the time disparaged.
It’s as if she demanded that her pictures reach beyond the realism that primal photography offered. Reading about her in Kirsty’s book, we get a sense of Julia eagerly striving to push herself and the medium to create something more.
This passion no doubt had an impact on parlor maid Mary, who also found herself in a starring role in Julia’s creations – a juxtaposition that Kirsty Stonell Walker’s Light and Love explores with compelling, heartfelt prose that encompasses not only the author’s interest in their lives, but a warmth and appreciation for the important role these women played in art history.
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Top review from the United States
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Intriguingly explores photographic pioneer Julia Margaret Camera and her frequent model Mary Hillier
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2021Top reviews from other countries
dark habit
an unparalleled collection of pictures
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2020Amazon Customer
Disappointing as a biography
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2020