Photography, Harriet Van Schoonhoven Thorne’s chosen interest, was an unusual one for a woman in the late 19th century. Harriet was an active photographer from 1885-1920, a time when photography was changing from a cumbersome process undertaken primarily by professionals to one that, thanks to hand-held cameras and flexible roll film, could be practiced by anyone. In the 19th century, photography was considered more of a science than it is now, and, with its emphasis on chemistry, optics, and technology, was dominated by men.
Harriet and her husband, Jonathan, lived in New York City, where she belonged to the city’s camera club. Founded in 1884 as the Society of Amateur Photographers, its aim was to focus on the scientific aspect of the craft. The earliest record of Harriet’s involvement is in January 1889, when she was one of four female members and she is known to have been active until 1898.
Although Harriet and Jonathan had their primary residence in New York, Harriet’s photography studio was at their Bridgeport, Connecticut, summer home, nicknamed Schoonhoven. Her studio was full of all manner of props and costumes, and she regularly corralled her family into posing for portraits, something the younger members did not always enjoy. She also documented the family’s travels to Florida and frequent trips to their hunting club in South Carolina, as well as getaways to her brother-in-law’s summer home, Thornecrest, in Millbrook, N.Y.
Many of the images Harriet produced were posed portraits, most of them in black and white, though Harriet also experimented with color photography. Her images of individuals range from formal studies of the subject’s face to more complex costume pieces taken outdoors. While most individual portraits use simple backdrops, in the images of two or more people, their actual surroundings are often visible in the background. Harriet seemed to delight in complicated patterns featuring the elaborate wallpapers and overstuffed interiors popular in her day. Her masterful compositions allow the viewer glimpses into the lifestyle of a wealthy family at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
A large collection of over 200 glass negatives and archival prints by Harriet V.S. Thorne was donated to The Connecticut Historical Society by the Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation in 2010. A major exhibition is planned for the fall of 2013. For more information go to http://www.chs.org/page.php?id=512. To see more examples of Harriet’s work, go to emuseum.
