Duchess of Cambridge puts degree to good use as she 'curates' Victorian photography show

The Duchess of Cambridge is to put her history of art degree to good use as she curates her first exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, in a photographic celebration of childhood.

The Duchess, who is patron of the gallery, has selected key Victorian photographs for a special “Patron’s Trail”, which will see her write labels telling visitors about the works.

The extraordinary project will see her follow in the footsteps of Victoria and Albert, who were enthusiastic supporters of photography from its invention, and make use of her St Andrews degree.

Writing about her involvement, the Duchess, who according to her husband takes photographs of Prince George and Princess Charlotte every day, called herself an “enthusiastic amateur photographer”, disclosing she wrote her undergraduate thesis on 19th century images.

The exhibition, entitled Victorian Giants: The Birth Of Art Photography, is based on rarely-seen works from groundbreaking photographers Oscar Rejlander, Lewis Carroll, Julia Margaret Cameron and Lady Clementina Hawarden, some of which have been borrowed from the Royal Collection.

Writing the foreword to the exhibition catalogue, the Duchess, who is pregnant with her third child, said: "This period in the history of photography has long interested me.

"As a student at the University of St Andrews, I chose it as the subject of my undergraduate thesis and photographs of children in particular, which feature predominantly within the exhibition, are of real interest to me.

"These photographs allow us to reflect on the importance of preserving and appreciating childhood while it lasts.

"Children held a special place in the Victorian imagination and were celebrated for their seemingly boundless potential.

"This notion still rings true for us today and it underpins much of my official work and the charities I have chosen to support, and, indeed, my role as a mother of a young family."

The Duchess will visit the exhibition in person as well as providing written information labels explaining why she has chosen four favourite photographs.

The show is a daring choice for the Duchess, based on the “radical attitudes” of the four artists and detailing how they “formed a bridge between the art of the past and the art of the future”.

Many of the photographs on display are rarely seen for conservation reasons, and others loaned from galleries around the world.

The wider exhibition, as chosen by NPG curators, will feature Carroll’s pictures of Alice Liddell, his muse for Alice's Adventures In Wonderland photographed as both a child and an adult.

The nature of the author’s apparently deep attachment to his young neighbour has previously been the subject of some controversy, but NPG curators stood by its inclusion after considering the evidence carefully, noting “no claims of impropriety were ever made in his lifetime”.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan, director of NPG, said: "We are delighted that our patron, the Duchess of Cambridge, has supported this exhibition in such a direct and personal manner, given her longstanding interest in this material.

“As always, it is privilege to collaborate with her.”

Phillip Prodger, the gallery's head of photographs, said: "When people think of Victorian photography, they sometimes think of stiff, fusty portraits of women in crinoline dresses and men in bowler hats.

"Victorian Giants is anything but. Here visitors can see the birth of an idea - raw, edgy, experimental. The works... forever changed thinking about photography and its expressive power."

Victorian Giants: The Birth Of Art Photography runs from March 1 to May 20.