Albert Richard Smith
- Artist: Camille Silvy
- Date: circa 1860
- Medium: albumen carte-de-visite
- Dimensions: 3 3/8 in. x 2 1/4 in. (85 mm x 57 mm) image size
- Portrays: Albert Richard Smith
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is an early 1860s albumen carte‑de‑visite photographed by Camille Silvy. The small frame—just over three inches wide—captures Albert Richard Smith in his own garden at Fulham, a quiet corner of London. You can see him looking out from the background of grass and trees, hat perched on his head, as if he had paused mid‑conversation with nature.
Silvy’s print shows fine detail: the texture of the coat and the soft light that makes the scene feel both intimate and airy. It is a good example of the carte‑de‑visite format that made portrait photography affordable to ordinary people in the 19th century.
Smith was more than a mountaineer; he wrote for Punch magazine, published “The Adventures of Mr Ledbury” in 1842, and as a public lecturer he popularised mountain climbing. In 1851 he summited Mont‑Blanc, then presented his show “Mr. Albert Smith’s Ascent of Mont‑Blanc” the following year. A few years later, in August 1854, he spoke before Queen Victoria and Prince Albert—an impressive audience for a Victorian author‑speaker.
See it in person
Albert Richard Smith is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
