Catharine Weed Barnes

Catharine Weed Barnes (1851–1913) was an early American photographer who later lived in England. She was a strong supporter of women photographers.

Born in Albury, New York January 10, 1851, Catherine Barnes traveled with her parents to Russia in 1872. Introduced to photography in 1886, she built her own studio in the attic of her home. She was appointed associate editor of American Amateur Photographer, wrote and lectured extensively on photography, and became known as an advocate for women in photography with her talk “Photography from a woman’s standpoint” (1890). Her appointment as editor was followed by a visit to England, where she was enrolled into the Photographic Society of Great Britain, and married the photographic journalist Henry Snowden Ward (1865–1911).

Together with her husband, Ward edited The Photogram (1894–1905), continued as The Photographic Monthly, and The Process Photogram (1895–1905), continued as The Process Engraver’s Monthly. They collaborated on a series of topographical volumes, with photographs taken by Mrs Ward, including Shakespeare (1896, 1897), Dickens (1903), Chaucer (1904), and Lorna Doane (1908).

Snowden Ward died suddenly in New York in 1911, while on a lecture tour to promote the Dickens centenary. Catherine returned to England, but her health deteriorated, and she died in Hadlow, Kent July 31 1913 [1].

Links

• http://www.mpritchard.com/photohistory/history/women.htm