ORThe Open Room
Digital gallery
Back to the NGA collection
The image shows a person in a side profile, with their body partially submerged in water. They are bent over slightly, holding a tool or stick with both hands, and appear to be engaged in work-related activity. The person is wearing a hat and a warm, textured coat, with sleeves rolled up, along with tall rubber boots that reach below the knee. Their facial features are not clearly visible as they are looking down, focusing on their task. In the background, there is an expanse of tall reeds or grasses that extend vertically and occupy most of the scene, casting reflections and filling the area around them.
Read the visual description

The image shows a person in a side profile, with their body partially submerged in water. They are bent over slightly, holding a tool or stick with both hands, and appear to be engaged in work-related activity. The person is wearing a hat and a warm, textured coat, with sleeves rolled up, along with tall rubber boots that reach below the knee. Their facial features are not clearly visible as they are looking down, focusing on their task. In the background, there is an expanse of tall reeds or grasses that extend vertically and occupy most of the scene, casting reflections and filling the area around them.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

A Reed-Cutter at Work

Peter Henry Emerson and T.F. Goodall

Date
1886
Medium
platinum print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 28.2 x 20.8 cm (11 1/8 x 8 3/16 in.) page size: 40.7 x 28.2 cm (16 x 11 1/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
1995.63.1.y
Credit line
Gift of Harvey S. Shipley Miller and J. Randall Plummer, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Time span
1876 to 1900
Department
CPH
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • British
  • platinum print
  • daily life
  • genre
Provenance

Harvey S. Shipley Miller and J. Randall Plummer, Fort Washington, PA; gift (partial and promised) to NGA, 1995.

Inscription

on interleaving tissue, printed in black ink: Plate XXV. / A REED-CUTTER AT WORK

NGA object ID 75238. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.