Alice Austen Captured the Streets of New York’s Gilded Age
In the process, she provided a glimpse into the life of a changing city
No one knows what future people will make of our lives. As they look back, they will draw judgements based on second-hand accounts. Photographs, through what we choose to frame with a lens, give one a chance to whisper to those future strangers. In the late 19th century, female photographers were rare, but Alice Austen remained undaunted by that fact. Her enthusiasm drove her out of the studio, to the lives of people on the streets of New York.
Soft velvet cushions
In 1866, Elizabeth Alice Austen came into the world. Afterward, her mother separated from her father, then took Alice to live on Staten Island, with her grandfather, John Haggerty Austen. He worked at a prosperous Manhattan auctioneering house, which allowed his family to live the upper-class lifestyle that was so prized during the Gilded Age.
The family home, Clear Comfort, had the bones of a 1690 Dutch cottage. John Haggerty had expanded it until it became a grand Gothic house that featured in many…