Alice Austen

Elizabeth Alice Austen (March 17, 1866 - June 9, 1952) was a Staten Island photographer.

Birth

She was born in Woodbine Cottage in the Rosebank section of Staten Island in 1866 to Alice Cornell Austen (1836-?) and Edward Stopford Munn (c1835-?). Woodbine Cottage is less than a mile away from the building known as Alice Austen House or Clear Comfort.

Father abandons family

Alice's father abandoned the family before she born, and she was baptised under the name Elizabeth Alice Munn on May 23, 1866, in St. John's Church on Staten Island. She never used the name Munn and would initial her glass photographic negatives with "EAA" for Elizabeth Alice Austen. With no household income and no husband, Alice's mother moved back to her own parent's home, which was known as "Clear Comfort". Alice was the only child in the household which consisted of Alice's mother, Alice Cornell Austen (1836-?); Alice's maternal grandparents, John Haggerty Austen (c1800-?); and Elizabeth Alice Townsend (c1800-?); and her mother's siblings, Peter Austen, a chemistry professor at Rutgers University; and Mary Austen aka Minnie (1840-?) who was married to Oswald Müller (1840-?) the owner of a shipping company who was born in Denmark.

Clear Comfort

The house was built in the 1600s, but was expanded during the 1800s by Alice's grandparents: John Haggerty Austen; and Elizabeth Alice Townsend. Clear Comfort was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark on April 8, 1976, one month after the 110th anniversary of Alice's birth.

Photography

Alice became interested in photography when her uncle, Oswald Müller, brought home a camera around 1876. Alice's uncle Peter was a chemistry professor and he showed Alice how to use the developing chemicals in a darkroom. Peter and Oswald converted a closet on the second floor into Alice's darkroom. The earliest extant photograph by her is dated 1884. By 1900 her uncle Oswald was the head of household and the family had two servants: Katherine Wertz (1857-?); and Constance Rasmusth (1876-?). They also had a cook, Mary McDonald (1873-?).

Gertrude Amelia Tate

In 1899 Alice met Gertrude Amelia Tate (1871-1962) of Brooklyn, New York. She became Alice's life long companion. Gertrude moved in with Alice at Clear Comfort in 1917.

Decline

Alice lived off the income from the money left by her grandfather but all was lost in the stock market crash of 1929. Alice at age 63 now had no income. She tried serving tea on her lawn with Gertrude for a few years but it never provided enough money to pay her bills. She began to sell off the home's silver, art works, and furniture to get enough money for food and fuel. She eventually mortgaged the house which had been owned outright, but lost the title in 1945. Forced to move, Alice sold her few remaining possessions for $600 to a second-hand dealer from New Jersey. While moving she asked Loring McMillen from the Staten Island Historical Society for assistance. He came across her collection of glass plate negatives and took as many as he could to the basement of the old court house in Richmondtown for storage. Alice then moved to a small apartment but eventually moved into a nursing home. Her final indignity was on June 24, 1950, when she was declared a pauper and was admitted to Staten Island's poorhouse, known officially as the New York City Farm Colony.

Rediscovery

In 1950 Picture Press started a project on the history of American women. Oliver Jensen of Picture Press sent out a standard form letter to various archives and historical societies, asking if any had useable images. C. Copes Brinley of the Staten Island Historical Society responded and invited someone to look through the 3,500 extant, uncatalogued Alice Austen glass plate negatives of the roughly 9,000 she took in her lifetime. In October of 1950, Constance Foulk Robert, a research assistant, met with Brinley and McMillen to go through the negatives. Constance brought Oliver Jensen with her on a next trip and an agreement was signed with the Historical Society. Oliver Jensen then published several of Alice's photos in the book Revolt of Women. He also wrote an eight-page story in Life magazine, and six pages of Alice's travel photos in Holiday magazine. The publications raised more than $4,000. Alice Austen's 1/3 of the proceeds was enough to move her out of the Farm Colony and back into a private nursing home. On October 9, 1951 Alice Austen was the guest of honor at an exhibition of her photographs at the Richmondtown museum where over 300 guests had been invited to celebrate Alice Austen Day. She said: "I am happy that what was once so much pleasure for me turns out now to be a pleasure for other people."

Death and burial

Alice lived the next eight months in the nursing home, where she died peacefully in her sleep on June 9, 1952. She was buried in the Austen family plot in the Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp, Staten Island.

Timeline

• 1866 Birth and baptism
• 1900 Appearance in US Census
• 1917 Gertrude Tate moves in
• 1929 Stock market crash
• 1950 Declared a pauper then her rediscovery
• 1951 Alice Austen day
• 1952 Death
• 1976 Cold Comfort becomes National Landmark

References

• New York Times, October 06, 1951, page 12; "Alice Austen Day"
• New York Times, October 08, 1951, page 19; "Friends honor Miss Alice Austen"
• New York Times, June 10, 1952, page 27; "Obituary: Miss Alice Austen, 86 Photographer"

External links

• Official Alice Austin Website (http://www.aliceausten.org)
• Findagrave: Alice Austen (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmid=46580804&GRid=7955241&pt=Alice%20Austen&)