19/08/2026
Today is National Photography Day, and Aberdeen has been in the unique position of having one of the pioneers of the art and science of photography not only as a resident of the City, but as a close associate of the town council.
George Washington Wilson (1823 – 1893) was originally a portrait miniaturist before taking up the pursuit of the then new science of photography in 1852. While photographing the construction work at Balmoral Castle, he was retained to produce official photographic portraits of the Royal Family. This patronage, coupled with his tremendous skill in both portrait and landscape photography, quickly garnered him a reputation as one of the pioneers of the form. While the majority of George Washington Wilson’s work is held at the University of Aberdeen, we have a series of photograph albums he produced early in 1883 as photographer to the Town Council of Aberdeen. These portraits of every Council member show the tremendous variety permitted in hair and beard styles to upper middle class white men of middle age and above in Victorian Scotland. There is considerably less freedom in their attire, of course. They are all dressed respectably.
As well as our impeccably groomed Victorian worthies, we have a number of other photographic collections that provide a picture of the North-East from a number of angles. We have a photographic collection originally maintained by Hall Russell shipyard, we have Aberdeen’s Publicity and Promotional image collection, and also photographs taken by the City Architect and the Planning Department that show a much more everyday look at the life of the City in the 20th Century.
