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William Notman’s Photographic Inventions


Curated by Sarah Parsons

Hand-painted composite photograph by William Notman of a large crowd socializing in an indoor skating rink, all dressed in elaborate costumes. Flags, chandeliers, and tree garlands hang from the rafters.

More than a century before Photoshop, William Notman (1826–1891) found ingenious ways to enhance his photos and fool the eye. Notman arrived in Canada from Scotland in 1856, swiftly establishing himself as Montreal’s most prominent photographer. He was a proficient technician and an enthusiastic inventor of tools and techniques for his photography and was best known for his development of elaborate composite photographs. For more on William Notman read Sarah Parsons’s William Notman: Life & Work.



About the Curator: Sarah Parsons

Sarah Parsons is Associate Professor of Visual Arts and Art History at York University, where she teaches the history and theory of photography and Canadian art. She has published on various aspects of photography and served as editor of Photography after Photography: Gender, Genre, History, a volume of essays by the photo historian and theorist Abigail Solomon-Godeau (Duke University Press, 2017).



Banner Image: William Notman, Skating Carnival, Victoria Rink (detail), Montreal, 1870, painted composite, silver salts, oil on canvas, albumen process, 137 x 176 cm, McCord Museum, Montreal.

Gallery

Black and white photograph by William Notman of bridge under construction. A train track runs down the centre and pieces lay on the track, not yet installed.

Framework of Tube and Staging Looking In, Victoria Bridge, 1859

Black and white photograph by William Notman, taken in studio, of a group of men seated around a campfire at night, the light illuminating their faces. Behind them is a tent, trees (casting shadows on a wall or backdrop), and snowshoes.

Around the Camp Fire, 1866

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a street in front of a stone building. Two men sit in a horse-drawn sleigh, the seat covered in furs. A man in a long coat holds the horse's reins as they pose motionless for the photo.

Mr. Collins’ Sleigh at Notman’s Studio, Bleury Street, 1868–69

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a scene by a waterfall. In the foreground are piles of crumbling shale rock and a small man standing on top of them, fishing. The waterfall appears in the distance, blurred by mist.

Chaudière Falls, 1870

Hand-painted composite photograph by William Notman of a large crowd socializing in an indoor skating rink, all dressed in elaborate costumes. Flags, chandeliers, and tree garlands hang from the rafters.

Skating Carnival, Victoria Rink, 1870

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a young girl sitting on a chair on a porch. She is looking at the camera and wearing braids, a white hat, a dress, boots, and is holding a dog in her arms. A lattice wall and balustrades behind the girl let light in and a window shade is open to her left.

Miss H. Frothingham, 1871

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a woman in a long frilly white dress sitting in a conservatory. The photo is taken from a high angle and features a floor with a busy repeating pattern, large potted plants surrounding the woman's chair, a small statue of a woman in Greek or Roman dress placed on a ledge, and large flowering bushes in the background.

Mrs. William MacKenzie in Allan’s Conservatory, 1871

Sepia-toned composite photograph by William Notman and William James Topley of a fancy-dress ball at Rideau Hall. Small individual portraits are cut out and arranged together to form the crowd. Two figures sit on raised thrones on the far left of the frame.

Fancy Ball Given by the Governor General Lord Dufferin at Rideau Hall on February 23, 1876, 1876

Black and white composite photograph by William Notman of a group of men standing in a snowy field with their arms up, waiting to catch a man who has been thrown up in the air. The men are wearing striped coats, hats, tall socks, and short boots. A distant forest is painted on the backdrop near the horizon.

The Bounce, 1886

Black and white photograph by William Notman of bridge under construction. A train track runs down the centre and pieces lay on the track, not yet installed.

Framework of Tube and Staging Looking In, Victoria Bridge, 1859

Black and white photograph by William Notman, taken in studio, of a group of men seated around a campfire at night, the light illuminating their faces. Behind them is a tent, trees (casting shadows on a wall or backdrop), and snowshoes.

Around the Camp Fire, 1866

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a street in front of a stone building. Two men sit in a horse-drawn sleigh, the seat covered in furs. A man in a long coat holds the horse's reins as they pose motionless for the photo.

Mr. Collins’ Sleigh at Notman’s Studio, Bleury Street, 1868–69

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a scene by a waterfall. In the foreground are piles of crumbling shale rock and a small man standing on top of them, fishing. The waterfall appears in the distance, blurred by mist.

Chaudière Falls, 1870

Hand-painted composite photograph by William Notman of a large crowd socializing in an indoor skating rink, all dressed in elaborate costumes. Flags, chandeliers, and tree garlands hang from the rafters.

Skating Carnival, Victoria Rink, 1870

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a young girl sitting on a chair on a porch. She is looking at the camera and wearing braids, a white hat, a dress, boots, and is holding a dog in her arms. A lattice wall and balustrades behind the girl let light in and a window shade is open to her left.

Miss H. Frothingham, 1871

Black and white photograph by William Notman of a woman in a long frilly white dress sitting in a conservatory. The photo is taken from a high angle and features a floor with a busy repeating pattern, large potted plants surrounding the woman's chair, a small statue of a woman in Greek or Roman dress placed on a ledge, and large flowering bushes in the background.

Mrs. William MacKenzie in Allan’s Conservatory, 1871

Sepia-toned composite photograph by William Notman and William James Topley of a fancy-dress ball at Rideau Hall. Small individual portraits are cut out and arranged together to form the crowd. Two figures sit on raised thrones on the far left of the frame.

Fancy Ball Given by the Governor General Lord Dufferin at Rideau Hall on February 23, 1876, 1876

Black and white composite photograph by William Notman of a group of men standing in a snowy field with their arms up, waiting to catch a man who has been thrown up in the air. The men are wearing striped coats, hats, tall socks, and short boots. A distant forest is painted on the backdrop near the horizon.

The Bounce, 1886

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