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

Messenger boy and bike in New York (1896). By Elizabeth Alice Austen from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

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.

Elizabeth Alice Austen House, 2 Hyland Boulevard, Staten Island. By Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

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…