Copeland and Day
Fred Holland Day | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 23 November 1933 (aged 69) |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, publisher |
| Known for | Pictorialist photography, founding Copeland and Day publishing house |
Fred Holland Day (July 23, 1864 – November 23, 1933) was a distinguished American photographer and publisher who gained recognition in the late 1800s within literary and photographic communities. As a prominent figure in the Pictorialist movement, he was among the pioneers advocating for photography’s acceptance as a form of fine art.
Life
Born into affluence as the son of a prosperous Boston merchant and a descendant of Ralph Day, Day enjoyed financial independence throughout his lifetime. His artistic choices sparked controversy, particularly due to his focus on religious themes presented in unconventional ways and his frequent depiction of male nudes, often embodying classical aesthetics with subtle homoerotic elements. While many have speculated about his sexual orientation, he maintained a discreet private life.
Day committed significant effort to educating underprivileged immigrant youth in Boston, including mentoring the young Lebanese immigrant Kahlil Gibran, who later became renowned for authoring The Prophet.
In 1893, he co-established and personally funded the publishing house Copeland and Day, which operated until 1899. The company produced nearly one hundred titles inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and the ideals of William Morris’s Kelmscott Press. Among their notable publications were Oscar Wilde’s Salomé featuring illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, the Beardsley-illustrated magazine The Yellow Book, as well as Stephen Crane’s The Black Riders and Other Lines.
His travels included international destinations such as Algiers, potentially influenced by literary figures like Wilde and Gide. A photographic portrait titled Portrait of F. Holland Day in Arab Costume, 1901 by Frederick H. Evans dates from this era.
Day cultivated friendships with notable personalities such as Louise Imogen Guiney and Ralph Adams Cram, participated in artistic circles like the Visionists, and was a significant supporter of Aubrey Beardsley’s work. Additionally, he was an avid collector of books, assembling an exceptional collection focused on the poet John Keats.
Work
Around the turn of the twentieth century, Day held considerable sway as a photographer, rivaling contemporaries like Alfred Stieglitz, who eventually eclipsed him. A highlight of his career was organizing the 1900 exhibition New School of American Photography at the Royal Photographic Society. This event showcased 375 photographs by 42 artists, with Day contributing 103 images. The exhibition received mixed reactions, earning praise alongside severe critique; for example, Photographic News dismissed it as "unacademic ... and eccentric."
As a member of the pictorialist movement, Day treated photography as a legitimate art form, often incorporating themes from symbolist art. Though invited to join the influential Photo-Secession group, he chose not to participate. His imagery frequently drew upon motifs from classical antiquity. Between 1896 and 1898, he explored Christian iconography by portraying himself as Jesus during an outdoor reenactment of the crucifixion in Norwood, Massachusetts. This work culminated in his acclaimed series The Seven Last Words, which depicted Christ’s final statements.
Day typically made a single print from each negative, exclusively employing the platinum printing process, which he preferred for its superior quality. However, his enthusiasm diminished after platinum supplies became limited following the Russian Revolution.
Legacy
Day's reputation diminished over time, largely eclipsed by Stieglitz, evolving artistic movements that embraced early modernism, and a devastating 1904 blaze that obliterated approximately 2,000 of his prints and negatives. The remaining works were gifted to the Royal Photographic Society during the 1930s.
Beginning in the 1990s, Day's photographic oeuvre underwent renewed scholarly and public interest through significant museum exhibitions. Notable presentations included a dedicated retrospective at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (2000–2001), along with exhibitions at the Royal Photographic Society and the Fuller Craft Museum. Contemporary researchers acknowledge his pioneering role in homoerotic portraiture and its artistic links to figures such as Walter Pater and Thomas Eakins.
His erstwhile home at 93 Day Street in Norwood, Massachusetts, now functions as the F. Holland Day House & Norwood History Museum, which also houses the headquarters of the Norwood Historical Society.
See also
Further reading
- Estelle Jussim. Slave to Beauty: The Eccentric Life and Controversial Career of F. Holland Day (1981).
- Stephen M. Parrish. Currents of the Nineties in Boston and London: Fred Holland Day, Louise Imogen Guiney, and Their Circle (1987).
- James Crump. F. Holland Day: Suffering the Ideal (1995).
- F. Holland Day: Selected Texts and Bibliography (1995).
- Samuel Coale et al. New Perspectives on F. Holland Day (1998).
- Patricia J. Fanning. Through an Uncommon Lens: The Life and Photography of F. Holland Day (2008).
- Trevor Fairbrother. Making a Presence: F. Holland Day in Artistic Photography (Andover, Mass.: Addison Gal. of Amer. Art, 2012).
External links
- 1864 births
- 1933 deaths
- 19th-century American publishers (people)
- 20th-century American publishers (people)
- 19th century in Boston
- 19th-century American photographers
- 20th-century American photographers
- 19th-century American LGBTQ people
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- Photographers from Boston
- American gay artists
- People from Norwood, Massachusetts
- Pictorialists
- American bibliophiles
- Publishing companies disestablished in 1899