When we think of Victorian women, we don’t immediately picture women laughing together, hugging one another, smoking cigarettes, or living their lives without restraint. But thanks to one prolific female photographer of the time, we do have a glimpse into this perhaps hidden, but nevertheless very real world. 

Alice Austen: a photographer far ahead of her time

Born in 1866 into a wealthy Staten Island family, Elizabeth Alice Austen, known in her adulthood as Alice Austen, had a passion for photography since the age of 10. Her affluence allowed her to pursue this curiosity. And pursue it she did, with meticulous rigor, whether she was taking meticulous notes, experimenting with exposure and light, or developing photos in a dark room built for her by her uncle, who introduced her to photography in the first place. 

Austen would lug up........

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