(Mary) Gladys Storey with a maid

© National Portrait Gallery, London

 Like voting
is closed

Thanks for Liking

Please Like other favourites!
If they inspire you please support our work.

Buy a print Buy a greetings card Make a donation Close

(Mary) Gladys Storey with a maid

by Unknown photographer
Cyanotype, circa mid 1890s
8 3/8 in. x 6 1/8 in. (212 mm x 155 mm) overall
Purchased, 1976
Photographs Collection
NPG x32716

Sitterback to top

  • (Mary) Gladys Storey (1886-1978), Author and pioneer of Women's Services; daughter of George Adolphus Storey. Sitter in 8 portraits.

Artistback to top

This portraitback to top

With the introduction of commercially available cameras in the late 1880s, amateur photography became possible on a wide scale. In response, some photographers sought to distinguish their work by making highly crafted images, sometimes returning to earlier techniques. The cyanotype process was invented in the 1840s and used in architectural blueprints, but enjoyed an artistic revival during this later period. It lends itself well to moody, evocative pictures such as this. Shown here as a young girl,the sitter Gladys Storey would go on to become an author and pioneer of women’s military services.

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Levitt, Sarah, Fashion in Photographs 1880-1900, 1991, p. 64

Events of 1893back to top

Current affairs

Keir Hardie is among the group who formalise the Independent Labour Party, and is elected chairman and party leader at the opening conference. Gladstone continues with his campaign for home rule in Ireland, introducing the Second Home Rule Bill, which is passed by the Commons but vetoed by the Lords.

Art and science

Art Nouveau becomes a fully established movement in European art and design, after emerging in different countries and across different disciplines at the start of the decade. Key figures include the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley, architects Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, and the designer Alphonse Mucha. Art Nouveau is characterised by the 'whiplash' line, a decorative line which represents graphically the desire to break free from traditional aesthetic constraints.

International

Gandhi's ejection from a South African train carriage on account of his race is the catalyst for his non-violent activism in leading the struggle for Indian independence from British rule.
New Zealand becomes the first self-governing country to grant women the vote.
The Chicago World's Fair is visited by more than 200 million people, with Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse introducing electrical power to illuminate the fair.

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.