Revd James Julius Wood, Greyfriars' Church

October 22, 1843

Medium

Salted paper print from a paper negative

Dimensions

19.8 × 14.1 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-801015

> The Rev. James Julius Wood (1800-77) was chaplain to the 42nd Gordon Highlanders, a group of soldiers stationed on the island of Malta. David Octavius Hill (1802-70) used this calotype as the basis for a portrait of Wood in the [Disruption Picture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruption_of_1843), even though the minister may not have been present at the signing ceremony (Wood is shown above and to the left of the atlas in the right foreground). As with Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) (see [84.XM.445.15](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/39615/hill-adamson-sir-david-brewster-1843-1844/)), Wood is pictured older in the painting than in the photograph. It took Hill more than twenty years to finish the oil; during this time he evidently decided to update the appearance of many of the sitters, aging them by adding beards, spectacles, and gray hair. > > This use of artistic license also extended to photographs by Hill and his partner Robert Adamson (1821-48). The original negative for this plate was altered to include a very specific reference to Wood's position—the title Scotch Church Malta 1843 was drawn in ink on the book he is holding (Hill's inscription at the bottom…