Painting on photographs: A 19th Century perspective
 
Curated by
Alan Griffiths
 
With thanks to all the institutions, private collectors, photographic galleries and dealers who have kindly provided examples for inclusion.
 
The artist that rubs out the freckles from a lady's photograph, blots out truth and substitutes falsehood. If the conscience of society is not above the approval of such things, it is because artists have educated society down to that level. A true artist owes it to himself to be truthful. If artists would spend as much pains trying to bring out the living realism of nature as they do in trying to improve nature, both art and morals would be vastly the gainers.
 
(Rev. W.P. M'Nary "Art as a Teacher" in The Evangelical Repository, First Series, Vol.LVI, No.11, April 1880, p.365-366)