W. & D. Downey
(active 1855-1940), PhotographersArtist associated with 938 portraits
William Downey originally set up the company with his brother Daniel. They opened a portrait studio in South Shields in 1856 and in 1861-2 operated from 111 Northumberland Street, Newcastle, before moving to Eldon Square. In 1872 William moved to London to open a studio on Ebury Street, while his brother continued to look after the Newcastle branch. Among Queen Victoria's favourite photographers, the firm photographed at Balmoral and Frogmore throughout the late 1860s, particularly for the Prince of Wales. Their carte-de-visite portrait of the Princess of Wales with Princess Louise was one of the most popular ever issued, with sales of 300,000. William Downey's son, William Edward Downey, acted as operator for most royal sittings of the Edwardian era.
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax8568
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax8627
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG x241
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s-1870s
NPG x4734
Prince George William Frederick Charles, 2nd Duke of Cambridge
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG x135623
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s
NPG Ax39932
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1860
NPG x139849
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1880s (December 1862)
NPG x6424
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, December 1862
NPG x45950
by W. & D. Downey
albumen cabinet card, December 1862
NPG x131297
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, mid-late 1870s? (December 1862)
NPG Ax38169
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, mid 1860s
NPG Ax29654
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax29680
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 29 June 1863
NPG Ax14797
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG Ax17735
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax18366
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax18368
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax18240
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax18252
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax11938
William Bell Scott; Dante Gabriel Rossetti; John Ruskin
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 29 June 1863
On display in Room 22 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG x12959
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 29 June 1863
NPG x12958
William Bell Scott; John Ruskin; Dante Gabriel Rossetti
by W. & D. Downey
albumen cabinet card, 29 June 1863
NPG x128797
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, mid 1860s
NPG x4311
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG x17118
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax7493
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG x5957
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG x5955
William Bell Scott; Dante Gabriel Rossetti; John Ruskin
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 29 June 1863
NPG Ax38133
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax8682
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG x12640
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG x11976
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG Ax46206
by W. & D. Downey
albumen print, circa 1863
NPG Ax7342
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG Ax39794
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG Ax46268
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG Ax8564
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, 1863
NPG x46619
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG x6187
by W. & D. Downey
albumen carte-de-visite, mid 1860s
NPG Ax46269
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.