Geat-grandson of 19th century Birmingham photographer visits exhibition of ancestor’s work
Nov 23 2009 by Rebekah Oruye, Birmingham Mail
THE great-grandson of a 19th century Birmingham photographer visited an exhibition created by his ancestor for the first time.
Rik Burgoyne, from Redditch, came to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to view the Birmingham Seen display which includes work by his late relative James Burgoyne.
Rik only recently discovered that his great grandfather was a important Victorian photographer when he took up genealogy as a hobby.
The 66-year-old was accompanied to the museum by distant cousin Penelope Wreford, James Burgoyne’s great-granddaughter, who had also researched the history of the Burgoyne family.
Last week was the first time Rik and Penelope had met in person since they found out about each other in 2004.
Rik said: “It was fantastic to see James’ work and meet Penny in the flesh. We were very excited.
“Penny had done a lot of work to find out about our family. When she found out who James’ was and what he did we wanted to come and view the exhibition for ourselves.”
James Burgoyne was commissioned in 1871 to photograph the shops, streets and slums that were cleared as part of Joseph Chamberlain’s famous Birmingham Improvement Scheme, to make way for the construction of the Parisian-style boulevards of New Street and Corporation Street.
Coincidentally, Rik had trained as a photographer in the army and taught scientific and technical photography at the London College of Printing in the 1970s.
“Photography must be in the genes,” he said. “I absolutely love Birmingham as a city and it means a lot to know my great grandfather thought Birmingham was a city to be proud of too.”
The free Birmingham Seen exhibition will be at the city centre museum until January 3. The show explores how artists and photographers have portrayed the people and changing landscape of Birmingham since 1820 and, features works from the collections of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and Birmingham Central Library as well as loans from individual artists and galleries.
Birmingham City Council’s leisure chief Coun Martin Mullaney added: “The work on display here will inspire.”
