17 February 2010: Burrard Inlet, Vancouver

Erskine Beveridge was the owner of a Dunfermline based company that specialised in the production of fine table and bed linen.  A wealthy and influential man, Beveridge was an enthusiastic historian and archaeologist and would become one of the finest amateur photographers of his generation.  Fascinated by landscapes, boats, buildings and archaeological monuments, Beveridge’s images are not just fine, well composed representations of their subjects, but also convey a sense of what made the places he visited meaningful to him, a quality which transforms many of his photographs into real works of art.

In March 1885, Beveridge sailed to New York, where his business was thriving and a warehouse had been established to house goods for distribution. From New York, he travelled extensively around North America and Canada, taking photographs throughout his journey of locations ranging from Missouri and Colorado to British Columbia – including this image of Burrard Inlet, part of what is now modern day Vancouver.

An exhibition of Erskine Beveridge photography will be on display at the Dunfermline Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum from 1 March to 3 May 2010.