The Linked Ring
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Linked Ring (also known as "The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring") was an association of late 19th and early 20th century British photographers who pledged to promote pictorialism in particular and photography as a fine art in general.
Founded May, 1892, by Henry Peach Robinson the Brotherhood was "a means of bringing together those who are interested in the development of the highest form of Art of which Photography is capable." Famous members of the Brotherhood, which was by invitation only, included William Smedley-Aston, Frank Sutcliffe, Frederick H. Evans, Paul Martin, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Frederick Hollyer, J. B. B. Wellington, Richard Keene and, later, Americans Alfred Stieglitz and Clarence H. White. Though female photographers such as Zaida Ben-Yusuf exhibited at the annual shows during the 1890s, it was not until 1900 that Gertrude Käsebier and Carine Cadby became the first elected female members of the Ring.
Both Henry Peach Robinson and Richard Keene were also founding members of the Photographic Convention of the United Kingdom and many of the debates about pictorialism were also argued out at PCUK meetings.
In 1896 they began publishing The Linked Ring Papers, which were circulated annually to members until 1909 to promote and discuss the aesthetics and practice of pictorialism. A Photographic Salon was held annually in which members' work was exhibited. By 1910 photography was generally accepted as a fine art, and the Brotherhood disbanded with little fanfare.
The Brotherhood used as it logo three interlinked rings, which were meant in part to represent the Masonic beliefs of Good, True, and Beautiful.
