“The Morgan Library & Museum presents Arresting Beauty: Julia Margaret Cameron, a major exhibition exploring the revolutionary work of one of photography’s most pioneering and influential figures. On view from May 30 through September 14, 2025, it brings together a remarkable selection of Cameron’s evocative portraits and staged compositions, offering a rare glimpse into the artistic vision of a woman who transformed photography into an expressive art form. Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, the exhibition features works drawn from the V&A’s extensive holdings of nearly one thousand of Cameron’s photographs, which comprise the largest and most comprehensive collection of her work in the world. Arresting Beauty includes an array of Cameron’s most striking works, including her celebrated portraits of preeminent Victorians, allegorical tableaux, and a selection of her subjects inspired by literature and biblical themes. Also on view are pages from Cameron’s unfinished memoir, Annals of My Glass House.” — The Morgan Library & Museum

Colin B. Bailey, Katharine J. Rayner Director of the Morgan, said, “We invite the public to discover the daring and poetic world of Julia Margaret Cameron. This exhibition offers an opportunity to witness the artistry of a woman who redefined photography and secured its place among the fine arts.” 

“Julia Margaret Cameron was a pioneer in photography,” said Joel Smith, the Morgan’s Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography. “At a time when photographers were expected to do little more than find an attractive vantage point and make a correct exposure, she wielded her camera as an instrument of imagination and emotion. Arresting Beauty is a showcase for Cameron’s gaze—one that saw photography not as an exercise in accuracy, but as a pursuit of feeling.”

Arresting Beauty: Julia Margaret Cameron is organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and presented in collaboration with the Morgan Library & Museum. The exhibition at the Morgan is curated by Joel Smith, Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography, and Allison Pappas, Jane P. Watkins Assistant Curator of Photography

Title image: Julia Margaret Cameron, Call, I Follow, I Follow, Let Me Die!, 1867, carbon print © The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund. Museum no. RPS.735-2017

Images courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum.