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1 of 1977 Austen, Alice

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Name	Austen, Alice
Othernames	Elizabeth Alice Austen
Born	March 17, 1866
Birthplace	Staten Island
Deceased	June 9, 1952
Deceased where	Staten Island
Mother	Alice Cornell Austen
Father	Edward Stopford Munn
Role	Artist
Places of residence	Staten Island, New York
Occupation	Photographer
Notes	One of America’s first female photographers to work outside of the studio, Austen often transported up to 50 pounds of photographic equipment on her bicycle to capture her world. Her photographs represent street and private life through the lens of a lesbian woman whose life spanned from 1866 to 1952. Austen was a rebel who broke away from the constraints of her Victorian environment and forged an independent life that broke boundaries of acceptable female behavior and social rules. Austen was independently wealthy for most of her life and has widely been considered an amateur photographer because she did not make her living from photography. However, in addition to completing a paid assignment documenting the people and conditions of immigrant quarantine stations in New York during the 1890’s, Austen copyrighted, exhibited and published her work. Alice Austen’s life and relationships with other women are crucial to an understanding of her work. Until very recently many interpretations of Austen’s work overlooked her intimate relationships. What is especially significant about Austen’s photographs is that they provide rare documentation of intimate relationships between Victorian women. Her non-traditional lifestyle and that of her friends, although intended for private viewing, is the subject of some of her most critically acclaimed photographs. Austen would spend over 50 years in a devoted loving relationship with Gertrude Tate, 30 years of which were spent living together in her home which is now the site of the Alice Austen House Museum and a nationally designated site of LGBTQ history.

Related Records

1. 1986.15.4 - Print, Photographic

   [Group on tennis grounds]

   Record Type: Photo

   
2. 1995.9.116 - Print, Photographic

   [Alice Austen and Julia Martin sitting in trees with dogs]

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3. 1995.9.117 - Print, Photographic

   [Alice Austen]

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4. 1995.9.118 - Paper, Photographic

   [Alice Austen in nurse uniform]

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5. 1995.9.126 - Print, Photographic

   [Alice Austen in Breton costume]

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6. 1995.9.127 - Print, Photographic

   [Alice Austen in profile]

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7. 1995.9.128 - Print, Photographic

   [Alice Austen wearing a hat]

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8. 1995.9.135 - Print, Photographic

   [Alice Austen beside a chair in a garden]

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9. 1995.9.14 - Print, Photographic

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10. 1995.9.146 - Print, Photographic

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11. 1995.9.150 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice Austen, aunt Minn and uncle Peter]

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12. 1995.9.18 - Print, Photographic

    [Group of eight by large rock near road]

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13. 1995.9.30 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice Austen on the porch at Clear Comfort]

    Record Type: Photo

    
14. 1995.9.35 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice Austen and bicycle]

    Record Type: Photo

    
15. 1995.9.8 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice Austen in costume]

    Record Type: Photo

    
16. 2017.001.001 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice Austen, Age 22]

    Record Type: Photo

    
17. 2017.001.003 - Print, Photographic

    E.A.A., full length self-portrait, with fan.

    Record Type: Photo

    
18. 2017.003.011 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice & Minn on Balcony]

    Record Type: Photo

    
19. 2017.003.021 - Print, Photographic

    [Alice Austen reading on the porch of Clear Comfort]

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20. 2017.004.027 - Negative, Glass Plate

    [Minn Müller, John Haggerty Austen, Punch, and Alice Austen]

    Record Type: Photo