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Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography

Portraits of notable people

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s photograph collection includes a range of works depicting significant nineteenth-century individuals and personalities, including artists, actors, politicians and musicians. Prince Albert organised a selection of these portraits into albums, including albums entitled Theatrical and Musicians and Artists.

The portraits purchased and collected by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria give a sense of their views and tastes on art, theatre and music and the actors and singers they admired. Through their collecting, it is clear they admired the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind and the actors Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) and Thomas Frederick Robson (c. 1822-64).

William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)

Jenny Lind (1820-1887)

William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)

Jenny Lind (1820-1887)

Richard Beard (1801-85)

Tyrolese Singers

John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)

Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-93)

Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)

Group of nine Siamese Ambassadors

John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)

The Siamese Ambassadors, November 1857

Attributed to William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)

General Sir Charles Napier (1782-1853)

William Bambridge (1810-79)

John Holbert Glover (d. 1860)

Mayall : 224 Regent Street, London

Edward Smith-Stanley, Earl of Derby (1799-1869)

W & D Downey (active 1855-1941)

Richard Cobden (1804-65)

Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)

Sir Benjamin Hall (1802-67)