Alice Austen House

Alice Austen lived in this two-story Victorian cottage-style house (called Clear Comfort) for 78 years. She was one of the first women photographers and she developed all seven thousand of her photographs in Clear Comfort's darkroom.

 

Shortly after Austen was born in 1866, her father abandoned the family. Her mother subsequently moved back in with her parents. Alice grew up surrounded by her grandparents, uncles, aunt, and mother.  

 

Austen’s passion for photography began after her uncle Oswald brought home a camera from Germany. Her other uncle Peter, a chemistry professor, taught her how to use chemicals to develop the photographs. The men converted one of Clear Comfort’s closets into a darkroom for Austen to develop her photographs.

 

Austen’s photography style was unusual for the time as she did much of her work outside of a studio. She took pictures of New York's Lower East Side as well as groups of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. She also challenged social norms with her work by photographing female subjects in men's clothing. Austen even photographed women smoking in public--an illegal act during the Victorian age. Her photography spoke to the everyday lives of many Americans, capturing more common experiences than other photographers' work.

 

After the Great Depression began in 1929, Austen struggled to support herself. She was forced to sell almost half of her photos and by the late 1940s, she was destitute. Fortunately the Staten Island Historical Society saved much of her work, which was rediscovered in the second half of the 20th century.   

 

The Alice Austen House, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 2 Hylen Blvd in Rosebank on Staten Island. The property is a house museum open to the public March through December.

 

Sources:

Alice Austen House National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/AD70000925_03_23_2017.pdf

 

“Her Life.” Alice Austen House. (Accessed 03/26/2019) https://aliceausten.org/her-life/

“Her Photography,” Alice Austen House (Accessed 03/26/2019) https://aliceausten.org/her-photography

Details

Duration

1-3 Hours

Activity

Arts and Culture

Pets Allowed

No

Activity Fee

No

Donations are encouraged as there is no enterance fee. 

Location

Staten Island, New York

The house is located at 2 Hylan Boulevard in the Rosebank section of Staten Island. 

Reservations

No

Season

Check the Alice Austen House website for deatils: https://aliceausten.org/visit/