Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (1853

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (1853 – 1941)

Whitby Harbour, from the series of photographs of Whitby
and surrounding areas taken between 1875 and 1910.

Francis Meadow Sutcliffe (6 October 1853 – 31 May 1941) was an English pioneering photographic artist whose work presented an enduring record of life in the seaside town of Whitby, England, and surrounding areas, in the late Victorian era and early 20th century.

He was born in Headingley, Leeds, to the painter Thomas Sutcliffe and Sarah Lorentia Button. He made a living as a portrait photographer, working first in Tunbridge Wells, Kent then for the rest of his life in Sleights, Yorkshire. His father had brought him into contact with prominent figures in the world of art such as John Ruskin, and he resented having to prostitute his art taking photographs of holiday-makers. His business in Skinner Street rooted him to Whitby and the Eskdale valley but, by photographing the ordinary people that he knew well, he built up a most complete and revealing picture of a late Victorian town, and the people who lived and worked there.

He was a prolific writer on photographic subjects, contributed to several periodicals, and wrote a regular column in the Yorkshire Weekly Post. His work is in the collection of the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society and in other national collections.

source: Wikipedia

Link: photos by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe

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