National Portrait Gallery Acquires Only Known Ada Lovelace Photographs Through Bonhams
The National Portrait Gallery in London has acquired the only known photographs of Ada Lovelace through a private treaty sale facilitated by Bonhams. The acquisition comprises three rare daguerreotypes, including two by Antoine Claudet taken around 1843 and a third by an unknown photographer that reproduces a painting by Henry Wyndham Phillips. Louise Williamson of Bonhams' Valuations department and Matthew Haley handled the transaction, which was supported by Tim Lindholm and Lucy Gaylord Lindholm through the American Friends of the National Portrait Gallery.
The Signal
The photographs document Lovelace at key moments, including the period when she published her paper on Babbage's Analytical Engine, and provide the first opportunity for the Gallery to represent her from life in its collection. The Claudet images coincide with the emergence of photography as a medium, while the Phillips reproduction captures her final months before her death in 1852. The acquisition underscores the role of private treaty sales in enabling museums to secure pre-eminent objects with tax incentives shared between seller and institution.
- Artists: Antoine Claudet, Henry Wyndham Phillips
- People: Louise Williamson, Matthew Haley, Tim Lindholm, Lucy Gaylord Lindholm
- Auction Houses: Bonhams
- Museums: National Portrait Gallery
- Locations: London
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