About

N. W. Gibbons is a fine photographic artist who has been a life long resident of Westport, Connecticut.

Mr. Gibbons has worked in large format non-digital photographic media since the mid-1970’s, and most recently has produced work using a number of different 19th century photo processes. Mr. Gibbons creates very large tintypes and ambrotypes,

both as single images and also in diptych and triptych formats. Tintypes and ambrotypes are direct positive images on metal or glass respectively. Popular in this country from roughly 1865 through 1880, this style of photography is collectively known as “wet plate” due to the fact that exposed plates must be developed before their sensitized surface dries out. Each image is a unique “edition of one” as there is no negative from which to make duplicate prints. Wet plate images are noted for their extremely fine grain images with a long tonal scale.

Mr. Gibbons works in 11 x 14” and 18 x 22” formats. He favors cityscapes and landscapes in lower Fairfield County and nearby New York State, most recently working on an extended project documenting the remnants of the original Erie Canal. Past bodies of work include the bridges of the Merritt Parkway and the former industrial mills of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mr. Gibbons’ work is in numerous private and public collections, including the Yale Art Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Library of Congress.

When not making wet plate images, Mr. Gibbons is an Associate Fellow of Branford College at Yale University, where he teaches letterpress printing.