Alice Austen and the Natural World

Alice Austen (1866-1952) was a collector of plants and cuttings, often gifting them or pressing them in her numerous scrapbooks alongside clippings and notecards lavishly decorated with flowers. The Austens reflected Victorian society’s obsession with plants and its fascination with the natural world. The curated gardens of Austen’s home, affectionately called “Clear Comfort,” would become a source of creativity, a radical retreat, and a framing device for much of Austen’s photography and queer social interactions. This home and muse now provides a platform for contemporary photographers to explore connections in their work to the landmarked site, the life and work of Alice Austen, and the trajectory of hard-won queer and feminist emancipation.

Artist Bios

Alice Austen

Alice Austen was introduced to photography at age 10 in 1876. A second-floor closet of her home on the shore line of the New York Narrows Harbor served as her darkroom. In this home studio, which was also one of her photographic muses, she produced thousands of photographs of a rapidly changing New York City, making significant contributions to photographic history, documenting New York’s immigrant populations, Victorian women’s social activities, and the natural and architectural world of her travels.

One of America’s first female photographers to work outside of the studio, Austen often transported up to 50 pounds of photographic equipment on her bicycle to capture her world. Her photographs represent street and private life through the lens of a lesbian woman whose life spanned from 1866 to 1952. Austen was a rebel who broke away from the constraints of her Victorian environment and forged an independent life that broke boundaries of acceptable female behavior and social rules.

Organizations

The Alice Austen House

A vibrant cultural center, the Alice Austen House keeps the bold spirit of the early American photographer alive by presenting changing exhibitions of Austen’s pioneering historic photographs and of contemporary photography, providing education programs for students, offering a range of cultural programs for the public.
NYC Parks

NYC Parks is the steward of more than 30,000 acres of land — 14 percent of New York City — including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds, 1,800 basketball courts, 550 tennis courts, 65 public pools, 51 recreational facilities, 15 nature centers, 14 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches. We care for 1,200 monuments and 23 historic house museums. We look after 600,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. We are New York City’s principal providers of recreational and athletic facilities and programs. We are home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals.