The Aesthetic Moment: The Feminization of Art in Late Nineteenth-Century America

George Henry Fox was a New York physician and author in the late nineteenth century. His interest in collecting photographs of notable dermatological cases led to the publication of several photographically illustrated dermatology texts between 1879 and the early twentieth century. This thesis focuses on the fIrst and second editions of Fox's Photographic Illustrations of Skin Diseases, published in 1879 and 1885, respectively. The hand-coloured Artotype plates from these two editions are analyzed and contrasted in terms of the influence of studio portraiture, issues of patient anonymity and consent, and the aesthetic changes between editions. The power relationships and scientifIc classifIcation involved in depicting the body on ftlm are also considered. The books are on textualized with discussions of nineteenth-century American medical history, the use of clinical photographs as illustrations, photomechanical processes, late nineteenth-century dermatology texts, and Fox's biography.

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"We'll fight for nature-light, truth-light and sunlight, against a world in swaddling clothes." Reconsidering the Aesthetic Dress Movement and Dress Reform in Nineteenth Century America

Past Imperfect ◽

10.21971/p7cc75 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Curtis

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Female Empowerment ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Nineteenth Century America ◽

Late Nineteenth ◽

The Aesthetic ◽

Dress Reform

When Amelia Bloomer publicly donned pants in 1848 it marked the beginning of a well documented fight for female dress reform in America. Bloomer’s subsequent abandonment of the reform costume several years later led both her contemporaries and modern day scholars to view the movement as a failure. Yet beneath the highly publicized "Bloomer Movement" lay a complex web of individuals, communities, and organizations who sought to challenge and reform female dress. In this paper I examine the notion of equality in female and male fashion in nineteenth century America, and challenge the Bloomerian notion that equated the appropriation of masculine attire with female empowerment. Through an examination of the late nineteenth century aesthetic dress movement I will indicate that though a celebration of “feminine” clothing the aesthetes made a lasting contribution to dress reform and female empowerment.

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GEORGE HENRY FOX'S Photographic illustrations of skin diseases and the clinical photograph in late nineteenth-century America

10.32920/ryerson.14649015.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Katherine E. A. Watson

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

New York ◽

Skin Diseases ◽

The Body ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Power Relationships ◽

Nineteenth Century America ◽

Late Nineteenth ◽

Clinical Photograph ◽

The Aesthetic

George Henry Fox was a New York physician and author in the late nineteenth century. His interest in collecting photographs of notable dermatological cases led to the publication of several photographically illustrated dermatology texts between 1879 and the early twentieth century. This thesis focuses on the fIrst and second editions of Fox's Photographic Illustrations of Skin Diseases, published in 1879 and 1885, respectively. The hand-coloured Artotype plates from these two editions are analyzed and contrasted in terms of the influence of studio portraiture, issues of patient anonymity and consent, and the aesthetic changes between editions. The power relationships and scientifIc classifIcation involved in depicting the body on ftlm are also considered. The books are on textualized with discussions of nineteenth-century American medical history, the use of clinical photographs as illustrations, photomechanical processes, late nineteenth-century dermatology texts, and Fox's biography.

Download Full-text