"A Sea of Steps," Wells Cathedral
Frederick H. Evans
British, 1853–1943
1903
Frederick H. Evans’s 1903 platinum print records the worn, undulating stone stair of Wells Cathedral, the photographer aiming to translate the building’s solemn presence into a quiet, lyrical visual poem.
Your eye is drawn upward along a dark, rhythmic cascade of treads toward a sequence of luminous Gothic arches, with the platinum print’s subtle tonal gradations making every gouge and curve feel softly meditative.
Evans’s austere, ‘straight’ architectural photographs and his mastery of the deep tonal range of platinum printing helped establish photography as a fine‑art medium able to convey spiritual atmosphere and the lived history of monumental space.
Medium
Platinum print
Dimensions
9 1/4 × 7 1/2" (23.6 × 19.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Family of Man Fund
Accession
457.1966
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
