Self-portrait with sister, George Bernard Shaw, 1898. The George Bernard Shaw photographic collection, National Trust.

The National Trust in the UK looks after more than 550,000 photographic prints; negatives and transparencies; and photographic works of art, spanning from the 1840s to the present day. Collectively they act as visual diaries, offering glimpses into the way people live and how they viewed the world. One of the inventors of early photography, William Henry Fox Talbot fixed images using chemicals on paper in 1835 at his home at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire (NT). In her talk, Anna Sparham will illustrate some of the Trust’s extensive range of photographic holdings and highlight their common themes—from both professional photographers and amateurs. She will explore the history of this innovation and describe its link to NT properties. Finally, Ms. Sparham will look at the contemporary relevance of these works today.

Anna Sparham graduated with a photography degree from Nottingham Trent University. She became National Curator for Photography at the National Trust in 2022. She has worked extensively with both historic photographic collections and contemporary practitioners for 25 years. When she was Curator of Photographs at the London Museum, Ms. Sparham developed multiple exhibitions and publications on subjects including women’s suffrage, youth subculture, street photography and London at night. Her latest book, 100 Photographs: From the Collections of the National Trust was published in 2024.

Zoom Live
Thursday, May 14 | 2:00 p.m. (ET)

$15 members; $25 non-members and guests