GUSTAVE LE GRAY (1820-82) was among
the first to claim that photographs should
be thought of as artworks in themselves.
Originally a painter, Le Gray became the
first great teacher in the history of the
photographic medium, his students
including Charles Negre and Maxime du
Camp. His interest in experimentation and
high technical standards jeopardized his
commercial success, however, and he
ended his career in Cairo as a teacher of
drawing.