The Woman Who Captured Nature in Blue: Anna Atkins and the Birth of Photographic Art
Using cyanotypes, Anna Atkins turned seaweed and sunlight into the world’s first photographically illustrated book
Anna Atkins
Photographer, Naturalist, InnovatorAuthor
Corey Keller
Body Content
Anna Atkins’s cyanotypes—blue sun prints of seaweeds and ferns—were both a scientific marvel and aesthetic spectacle, bridging the worlds of art and science at a time when women were rarely welcome in either.
Raised in the intellectual circles of Victorian England, Atkins defied societal expectations with quiet determination, producing a body of work that was nearly lost to history.
In Anna Atkins: Photographer, Naturalist, Innovator (Getty Publications, $21.95), readers are invited to rediscover a woman whose brilliance influenced the future of photography. This compelling biography, for ages 13 and up, traces the life and legacy of Anna Atkins (1799–1871), the English naturalist and trailblazing photographer who created the world’s first photographically illustrated book—Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions—years before her male contemporaries received credit for similar achievements.
This accessibly written and elegantly illustrated volume brings her story into sharp focus, exploring the personal losses, scientific curiosity, and creative courage that defined her life. It is a celebration of innovation, determination, and the enduring power of overlooked genius.
Endorsements
“Brilliant, lively, and deeply engaging, Anna Atkins: Photographer, Naturalist, Innovator brings to life the pioneering figure behind the first photographically illustrated book. In clear, compelling prose, Keller weaves together biography, science, and cultural history to show how Atkins deftly navigated—and challenged—the gendered constraints of Victorian society to produce a quietly radical body of work. Wide-ranging yet accessible, this book sheds new light on the scientific, artistic, and social worlds that shaped Atkins’s extraordinary achievements. A must-read for anyone interested in the origins of photography, women in science, or the visual culture of the nineteenth century.”
— Sarah Kennel, Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
“This nuanced and beautifully written book is an excellent introduction to one of the pioneering photographers of the nineteenth century. Keller serves up a moving personal tale of Anna Atkins’s life, work, and friendships in the context of nineteenth-century science, industry, and gender. With its beautiful drawings, herbaria, and photographs and Keller’s careful and nuanced research, this book will be as popular with scholars as it is with students.”
— Professor Kelley Wilder
Anna Atkins
Photographer, Naturalist, Innovator$21.95/£18.99
