William Umpleby Kirk (1843–1928) was a pioneer photographer of the late

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

. He was born in Hull and grew up in nearby

Market Weighton Market Weighton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the main market towns in the East Yorkshire Wolds and lies midway between Hull and York, about from either one. According to the 2011 UK cen ...

where, in the early 1870s, he set up his first photographic studio. Examples of his work from that period have survived and are collected. In 1881 Kirk moved his family and his business to

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

, Isle of Wight, at that time the international centre of

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, t ...

. At Cowes yachts were raced, bought, sold and shown off. The rich and the titled came to Cowes to meet each other, to play and to be seen. Kirk photographed the boats and their owners afloat and ashore. He specialised in marine photographs and portraiture. A copy of Kirk's photograph of The Marquis of Ormonde, Commadore

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

, is held in the

British National Archives The National Archives (TNA, cy, Yr Archifau Cenedlaethol) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sp ...

at Kew, and his group portrait of Sir Warden Chilcott;

Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, (10 October 1860 – 30 December 1935) was a British Liberal politician and judge, who served as Lord Chief Justice of England, Viceroy of India, and Foreign Secretary, the last Liberal to hold that ...

; Paula Gellibrand, the Marquise de Casa Maury;

George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, KT, PC (29 August 1888 – 1 February 1963), styled Earl Gower until 1892 and Marquess of Stafford between 1892 and 1913, was a British courtier, patron of the film industr ...

;

Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...

;

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930), known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Chan ...

;

Catherine, Baroness d'Erlanger Baroness Marie Rose Antoinette Catherine de Robert d'Aqueria de Rochegude d'Erlanger (1874–1959) was a patron of the arts, supporting artists such as the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Cecil Beaton, Romaine Brooks, Philip de László and Sergei D ...

and her daughter , Baba, Baroness d'Erlanger, the Princesse de Faucigny-Lucinge is held at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

. Kirk photographed groups at house parties, tutor groups and sports teams of Naval Cadets at Osborne Naval College. His photographs of the sumptuous interiors of large yachts remain to record that era. Kirk's reputation grew when he photographed

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's yacht

HMY Alberta HMY ''Alberta'' was a royal yacht of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. She was built by Pembroke Dock and launched in 1863. Built as a tender to the larger royal yacht HMY ''Victoria and Albert'', ''Alberta'' made a number of voyages carr ...

at a speed of 10

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

entering Cowes Harbour; this is said to be one of the first British photographs of a vessel in motion, and to have earned him the Royal Warrant. The Isle of Wight Herald (September 1881) published an article headed Instantaneous Photography :''"On the occasion of the Queen's last visit to Osborne Mr W. U. Kirk, photographer, whose works, by his instantaneous method, have gaimed him considerable repute, photographed the Royal yacht Albert when steaming into the Harbour at a speed of ten knots with Her Majesty and suite aboard. The view so taken has since been exhibeted to the Queen, and her Majesty, we are glad to say, was very much pleased with it."'' Photographs by Kirk of the yachts ''Bona'' and ''Ailsa'', for example, were sold by auction at Christie's, New York and his work is sought by collectors. A collection of Kirk's work is held by the Isle of Wight County Council and is reviewed by Ian Dear. An extensive, but as yet uncatalogued collection of Kirk's original 8" x 10" glass plates is held by the Gallery,

Classic Boat Museum The Classic Boat Museum is a museum of boats and of the history of yachting and boating. It is located on the Isle of Wight at two separate sites on either side of the River Medina; The Boat Collection in Cowes, and The Gallery in East Cowes. It ...

, East Cowes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, William Umpleby 1843 births People from Cowes 19th-century English photographers People from Market Weighton 1928 deaths Photographers from Yorkshire