Toulouse-Lautrec Swimming in the Bassin d’Arcachon, Maurice Guibert, 1896

gelatin silver print, h 60mm × w 77mm More details

A swimming party, picnic, or holiday adventure were new subjects in photography around 1900. Amateurs began recording daily life and primarily leisure time with small and easy-to-use cameras in rapid – and sometimes inept – snapshots. The dot in this photograph is the famous painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. His friend Maurice, an amateur photographer, captured the artist while taking a summertime dip in the sea near Bordeaux.