Another side to Scarborough: the photographs of Nelson Dawson

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An old interest in the work of Nelson Dawson has been given a new lease of life by a conversation with a reader (and some helpful back-up emails). I remember seeing a lot of small etchings by Dawson at Craddock & Barnard on Museum St at more or less knock-down prices but I resisted the temptation to buy any and carried on with the pursuit of colour woodcuts.

I regret my lack of foresight now but even today (as my reader says) Dawson remains beneath the radar and this is even more so with his photography. You can take my surprise for granted when I came across the collection of photographs held by the National Museum at Greenwich. These were not only unexpected, he obviously knew what he was doing and I decided they would make a good introduction to a forthcoming post about his superb colour print Twilight at Scarborough. Nelson lived up to his name and, although he came from land-locked Stamford in Lincolnshire, his wife Edith was a native of Scarborough and they obviously spent a good deal of time there when they weren't working in France. 

Dawson was involved in artistic circles of the late C19th and early C20th century and as many of them did, spent time in all the usual places, including Chelsea and Etaples, though while everyone else went off to Whitby, Edith and Nelson made the very best of Scarborough and its port, harbour, castle and lighthouse. Like all good photographers, Dawson had a strong theatrical bent and, although many of the photographs are records made only just in time, they would have been less effective if he had been using colour instead of sepia. You could object and say he had no other choice, but I suspect he was well aware how much sepia had to offer. After all, he was essentially as artist who tacked between colour and monochrome and was obviously drawn to photography for various reasons including the way it creates atmosphere by restricting tones in the way etching does.

It would also be true to say these photographs stand on their own merit and I have not noticed him obviously using photographs as preliminary work for his etchings. But Dawson was very prolific and it would take someone with a much better knowledge of his work than I have to discuss any relationship between the photographs and the other prints. There obviously is one and I have no doubt further comments and opinions will be forthcoming. In the mean time, we can let the photos speak for themselves and, as I say, if you want to see more of them, have a look at the National Maritime Museum's collection where with luck you may also find the photo S.G. Boxsius used for his colour print The waterwitch.