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Richard J. Arnold (June 28, 1856 – May 19, 1929), also known as R. J. Arnold, was an English American 19th-century pioneer of early California photography. He is known for his large-format glass-plate photography and as the designated photographer for the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, California. He created one of the earliest and largest portrait collections of the early Latino community in California. His photographic collections are held in the Paso Robles History Museum and the Monterey County Historical Society.
Richard J. Arnold | |
|---|---|
 Arnold with camera | |
| Born | Richard John Arnold June 28, 1856 |
| Died | May 19, 1929 (aged 72) |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Years active | 1883-1924 |
| Known for | Official photographer of Hotel Del Monte |
Early life
editR. J. Arnold was born on June 28, 1856, in England. At age 16, he came to New York and eventually settled on California's Central Coast.[1][2]
Career
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Arnold opened studios in San Luis Obispo, California from about 1883 to 1896. In 1889, his studio was opposite Sinsheimer's store.[3] In July 1896 Arnold's Photograph Gallery on Higuera Street was destroyed in a fire.[1][4] Arnold had other studios in Santa Barbara and Alameda.[5][2]
Arnold's work included large-format glass-plate and real photo postcard of early adobes, the California missions, and the California coastal region.[5][2] He contributed to early California photography with one of the first portrait collections of California's Latino and Native American communities, which captured the diverse population of San Luis Obispo County in the late 1800s.[1][2] His works covered early celebrities of California such as M. H. de Young, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, and John D. Spreckels. Others include Queen Liliʻuokalani of the Hawaiian Islands.[6]
In 1901, Arnold moved to the Monterey Peninsula to succeed C. W. J. Johnson as the designated photographer for the Hotel Del Monte from 1902 to 1924. This let him capture the elegance of the hotel and its guests.[1][7][6] Arnold's tenure there continued until 1924, when he was succeeded by Julian P. Graham. His photographs of Monterey were showcased in Julie Cain's 2005 book Monterey's Hotel Del Monte, California.[1] The Arnold Photo studio was in the Alvarado adobe, now a California Historical Landmark, on the southwest corner of Alvarado and Pearl Streets in Monterey.[7] In his studio, subjects were posed with painted photography backdrops and period clothing, often using props to convey their identities and lifestyles.[2]
In 2011, the Paso Robles Historical Society received over 2,000 glass-plate negatives from Jacqueline D. Marie, discovered at a yard sale by Randal Gene Young. Marie loaned them to the Society, stipulating that they remain within the county and not be used for economic purposes.[1] A selection was presented at the 2013 exhibition Shared Histories: R.J. Arnold's Photographs of the Central Coast at the Carnegie Library in Paso Robles, California. The San Luis Obispo History Center exhibited these images from spring 2014 to March 2015 in Windows to the Past: Photographs by Richard Arnold, 1883 to 1887.[1]
In 2015, Arnold's photographs were exhibited in Shared Histories II: More of R.J. Arnold's Portraits of the Central Coast in Paso Robles, and California Unedited! The Archives of R.J. Arnold at the Paris Photo international art fair in Los Angeles. The latter was organized by Anthony Lepore, assisted by Julien Fryedman.[1][8][9]
In 2022 and 2023, the Paso Robles City Library exhibited a selection from the Paso Robles Historical Society’s collection of Arnold, in Photographic Look into Our Past.[10][11]
Death and legacy
editArnold died at the Monterey County hospital on May 19, 1929.[6]
The Arnold Photograph Collection was acquired in 1989 by the Monterey County Historical Society in Salinas, California. It includes early views of adobes, numerous California Missions, and scenes documenting the early history of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. The collection has over 2,400 photographs, glass negatives, original prints, and real-photo postcards.[7] The Paso Robles History Society continues to sponsor the Shared Histories series at the Paso Robles History Museum with Shared Histories 3, followed by Shared Histories 4 in 2019 and Shared Histories 5 in 2024.[9][12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Sarah Linn (April 26, 2015). "California Unedited: Golden State History Through R. J. Arnold's Intimate Lens". PBS SoCal. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Richard J. Arnold". Paso Robles Historical Society. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Untitled". San Luis Obispo Morning Tribune. May 4, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "San Luis Obispo's Blaze". The San Francisco Call and Post. San Francisco, California. July 10, 1896. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Bogdan, Robert; Weseloh, Todd (September 21, 2006). Real Photo Postcard Guide. Syracuse University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780815608516. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Richard Arnold, Aged Photographer of Monterey, Dead". The Californian. Salinas, California. May 20, 1929. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Richard J. Arnold, Early Monterey photographer 1856-1929". California Views: The Pat Hathaway Photo Collection. Salinas, California. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Boulders, beards and bonnets: rare photos of 19th-century Californians". The Guardian. May 1, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b "Past Exhibits". Paso Robles Historical Society. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ News Staff (February 9, 2022). "Library displaying late 19th century local portraits this month". Paso Robles Daily News. Paso Robles, California. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "A Photographic Look into Our Past". Paso Robles Library News. August 30, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "R.J. Arnold". Paso Robles History Museum. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
External links
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Media related to Richard J. Arnold at Wikimedia Commons