City Talk: Alice Austen House Museum (2011)

The description of the video: ‘Doug is joined by Ann Marie McDonnell, artist and director of education at the Alice Austen House Museum, and Dr. Carl Rutberg, the museum’s executive director. They discuss the great photographer Alice Austen- her works, her life and the history of her home, Clear Comfort, now a National Historic Landmark.’

Alice Austen

Photographer and lesbian Alice Austen (1866 – 1952) lived and photographed life on Staten Island USA. Some of her prints depicts herself and her female friends. Those photos were printed for private purposes to be shared with a select group of women. In some of these pictures Alice is cross dressed in male clothes. In 1899 Austen met Gertrude Amelia Tate (ca 1871 – 1962) of Brooklyn, who was to be her long-time companion. Gertrude moved in with Alice at Clear Comfort in 1917 and they shared the house until Alice lost her house after the stock marked crash of 1929. Even though life forced them to live separately they were each others companions until Alice died in 1952.