Alice Austen (1866–1952) was one of America’s earliest and most prolific female photographers. Though she is best known for her documentary work, Austen was an artist with a strong aesthetic sensibility. Furthermore, she was a landscape designer, a master tennis player, and the first woman on Staten Island to own a car. She never married, and instead spent fifty years with Gertrude Tate. A rebel who broke away from the ties of her Victorian environment, Alice Austen created her own independent life.
Austen’s work challenged Victorian traditions while providing examples of everyday society in late 19th- and early 20th-century America. Her work often mocked Victorian mores by dressing female subjects in men’s clothing and even showing women smoking in public—an illegal act during the Victorian age. Her photography captured more common experiences than other photographers’ work, and her photos were often displayed in prominent shows.
Note: National Historic Landmark