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Artists›John Thomson

John Thomson

John Thomson

Artist

WA-00029753

Photography

Representation

None documented

2

Institutional Exhibitions

454

Works in Collection

731

Assets Indexed

0

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ736862 ULAN500022641

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Photography for Collectors

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

The Exact Instant

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5863
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

John Thomson was a British photographer and explorer active in the mid to late nineteenth century, known for documentary photography of East Asia and the Near East. Working primarily in albumen and carbon print processes, he produced extensive photographic surveys of China, Cambodia, and Egypt that combined ethnographic observation with landscape documentation. His work represents a significant archive of late-colonial visual culture and demonstrates the technical refinement possible within large-format field photography of the period.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Photography

Medium

—

Related Artists

11 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Rijksmuseum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York National Gallery of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (454)

Macao

1963 · Collotype, pl. XXIII from the album "Illustrations of China and its People, Volume I" (1873)

Image: 20.2 × 30 cm (8 × 11 13/16 in.); Album page: 34.7 × 47.1 cm (13 11/16 × 18 9/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Flying Dustmen

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 19 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 8.8 × 11.4 cm (3 1/2 × 4 1/2 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.2 cm (10 15/16 × 8 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Old Furniture

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 20 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.2 × 8.7 cm (4 7/16 × 3 7/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.6 × 21.3 cm (10 7/8 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Street Locksmith

The Street Locksmith

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 17 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.4 × 8.8 cm (4 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.); Page/mount: H.: 27.8 cm (10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Independent Shoe-Black

The Independent Shoe-Black

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 21 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.2 × 8.6 cm (4 7/16 × 3 7/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.2 cm (10 15/16 × 8 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Halian Street Musicians

Halian Street Musicians

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 16 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 8.9 × 11.5 cm (3 9/16 × 4 9/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.4 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Seller of Shell-Fish

The Seller of Shell-Fish

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 18 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 8.7 × 11.4 cm (3 7/16 × 4 1/2 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.1 cm (10 15/16 × 8 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The "Crawlers"

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 15 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.5 × 8.7 cm (4 9/16 × 3 7/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.1 cm (10 15/16 × 8 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

November Effigies

November Effigies

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 13 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 8.9 × 11.6 cm (3 9/16 × 4 5/8 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.3 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

"Hookey Alf," of White Chapel

"Hookey Alf," of White Chapel

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 14 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.2 × 8.5 cm (4 7/16 × 3 3/8 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.3 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

"Mush-Fakers" and Ginger-Beer Makers

"Mush-Fakers" and Ginger-Beer Makers

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 12 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 10.7 × 8.2 cm (4 1/4 × 3 1/4 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.4 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Water-Cart

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 11 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 8.5 × 11.4 cm (3 3/8 × 4 1/2 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.1 cm (10 15/16 × 8 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Strawberries. All Ripe! All Ripe!

Strawberries. All Ripe! All Ripe!

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 9 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 9.1 × 11.7 cm (3 5/8 × 4 5/8 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.5 cm (10 15/16 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The London Boardmen

The London Boardmen

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 10 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.7 × 8.3 cm (4 5/8 × 3 5/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.5 cm (10 15/16 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Cheap Fish of St. Giles's

Cheap Fish of St. Giles's

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 6 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.2 × 8.8 cm (4 7/16 × 3 1/2 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.4 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Halfpenny Ices

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 4 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.4 × 8.9 cm (4 1/2 × 3 9/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.4 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Cast-Iron Billy

Cast-Iron Billy

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 7 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.7 × 8.9 cm (4 5/8 × 3 9/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.6 × 21.5 cm (10 7/8 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Workers on the "Silent Highway"

Workers on the "Silent Highway"

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 8 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.3 × 8.8 cm (4 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.3 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Covent Garden Labourers

Covent Garden Labourers

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 3 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.4 × 8.6 cm (4 1/2 × 3 7/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.3 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Street Incidents

Street Incidents

1881 · Book with text and mounted woodburytypes (21)

Covers: 28.3 × 21.9 cm (11 3/16 × 8 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The "Wall Worker"

The "Wall Worker"

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 2 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 11.5 × 7.6 cm (4 9/16 × 3 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.3 cm (10 15/16 × 8 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Black Jack

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 5 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 9.1 × 10.7 cm (3 5/8 × 4 1/4 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.5 cm (10 15/16 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

A Convicts' Home

A Convicts' Home

1881 · Woodburytype, plate 1 in the book "Street Incidents" (1881)

Image/paper: 8.9 × 11.5 cm (3 9/16 × 4 9/16 in.); Page/mount: 27.7 × 21.2 cm (10 15/16 × 8 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Seller of Shell-Fish

The Seller of Shell-Fish

1877 · Woodburytype, from the album "Street Life in London"

Image/paper: 8.8 × 11.3 cm (3 1/2 × 4 1/2 in.); Mount: 27.1 × 20.9 cm (10 11/16 × 8 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 454 artworks →

Artwork sources (6)

454 published of 718 catalogued · 182 with image

MoMA
264 publishedof 528 catalogued70 img
Art Institute Chicago
96 published96 img
The Met
85 published7 img
Rijksmuseum
7 published7 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
1 published1 img
Nga
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 3)

3 entries · 1 sources

Cast-Iron Billy
1876 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Covent Garden Flower Women
1876 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
"Caney" the clown
1876 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

12 assets

"Caney" the clown (c. 1876 - in or before 1877)

Rijksmuseum

London Nomades (c. 1877 - in or before 1878)

Rijksmuseum

View of the Great Wall, China (c. 1871)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Recruiting Sergeants at Westminster (1877)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Covent Garden Labourers (1877)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Sufferers from the Floods (1877)

Cleveland Museum of Art

London Nomades (1877)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Covent Garden Flower Women (1877)

Cleveland Museum of Art

View all 12 media items →

Relationships

7

Movements1

Collections6

Rijksmuseum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art National Gallery of Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Rijksmuseum

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

National Gallery of Art

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Photography for Collectors

New York · 1976

Group Exhibition The Exact Instant

New York · 1949