Keith Thomas

(b St Cyrus, Kincardineshire [now Grampian], May 1827; d London, 9 Oct 1895). Scottish photographer and doctor. He was active as an amateur photographer from c. 1852 to 1857, using the waxed paper process of Gustave Le Gray to make salted paper prints. Most of his known photographs were taken in Edinburgh and Iona. He treated traditional subjects, such as historic Edinburgh, with originality in response to the medium itself, stressing the abstract nature of the compositions as tonal contrasts and sequences of solids and voids, and emphasizing the geometry of buildings, for example Holyrood Abbey (Edinburgh, N.P.G.; see Hannavy, p. 24) and Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriars Churchyard (Edinburgh, Cent. Lib.; see Hannavy, pl. 1). His work was admired by Alvin Langdon Coburn, who included some of his prints in the Royal Photographic Society Exhibition of 1914.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Keith, Dr Thomas (1827-95), Scottish master of the paper negative. Keith's father was photographed by Hill & Adamson; in 1844, his brother daguerreotyped the Holy Land to illustrate their father's book. From 1853, with John Forbes White, Keith created the finest early views of Scotland's architecture and landscape, exclusively with paper negatives. His photographic activities were only curtailed when his exceptional talents as a surgeon claimed all his time. It was not until 1915 that his achievements were rediscovered by Alvin Langdon Coburn.

— Larry J. Schaaf

Bibliography

• Schaaf, L. J., Sun Pictures Catalogue Six: Dr. Thomas Keith and John Forbes White (1993)

Keith Thomas may refer to:

• Keith Thomas (footballer), Australian rules footballer
• Keith Thomas (historian), British historian
• Keith Thomas (producer), Grammy Award-winning producer
• Keith Thomas (saxophonist), Saxophonist, Writer and Producer

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