Historical Heroines
Women photographers active at some point between the late 18th Century and the mid-20th Century
Heroines Past
Research Resources Archive
Delve into our online archive to find out more about the photography pioneers of the past
In order to make space for the women photographers of today, we highlight the women who have been obscured over the years and celebrate the strides they made. Find out more in our online archive – researched, written and curated by our volunteers.
Legacy Heroines
Women photographers active at some point between the mid-20th Century and the present day.
As part of its mission, the organisation tracks down, preserves and celebrates archives that might have been forgotten or mislaid, which involves working with numerous estates, from Homai Vyarawalla, India’s first female photojournalist, to Hong Kong photographer Nancy Sheung.
How to buy an Eve Arnold image for only £30 . . . and other initiatives to champion female photographers, The Financial Times
Latest Posts
Amelia Elizabeth Guppy
Born 21st November 1808. Amelia Elizabeth Guppy was a pioneering photographer often remembered for her adventurous spirit and passion for studying orchids....
Georgiana Houghton and the Art of Spirit Photography
Spirit photography, a cultural phenomenon that swept through 19th-century England. At the heart of this strange and haunting practice was Georgiana Houghton, a figure who, with her delicate balance of spiritual fervour and commercial...
Alice Hughes
Alice Hughes (1857-1939) was a renowned studio portraitist based in London during the later years of the nineteenth century. She worked primarily in her Gower Street studio, which employed over fifty assistants and process workers at...
Hidden Histories: Claude Cahun
For Claude, exploring the limits of male & female identities was not merely a critique of societal gender norms, but rather a highly introspective endeavour...
Historical Heroines born in September
By Paula: Six pioneering women in photography to celebrate this September....
Heroines Past
Tour our A-Z of Heroines past, as our archives grow we hope to provide a detailed photographer’s profile for each name. Fancy writing a bio that’s missing? Or know a name that should be on the list? Email us at hello@hundredheroines.org
A
- Aase Goldsmith (1942 – 2015)
- Abigail Heyman (1942 – 2013)
- Agnes Varda (1928 – 2019)
- Alexandra Boulat (1962 – 2007)
- Alice Austen (1866 – 1952)
- Alice Guy Blaché (1873 – 1968)
- Alice Hughes (1857 – 1939)
- Alice Schalek (1874 – 1956)
- Alison Gernsheim (1911 – 1969)
- Amelia Elizabeth Guppy (1808 – 1886)
- Amélie Galup (1856 – 1943)
- Ana Mendieta (1948 – 1985)
- Anja Niedringhaus (1965 – 2014)
- Ann Cooke (1796 – 1870)
- Anna Atkins (1799 – 1871)
- Annapurna Dutta (1894 – 1976)
- Anne Brigman (1869 – 1950)
- Anne Fischer (1915 – 1986)
- Anni Schulz (1897 – 1943)
- Annie Blake (1848 – 1928)
- Annemarie Minne Renée Schwarzenbach (1908 – 1942)
- Anno Wilms (1935 – 2016)
- Arlene Gottfried (1950 – 2017)
- Astrid Kirchherr (1938 – 2020)
- Aubrey Le Blond, Mrs (1860-1934)
- Augusta Mostyn/Henrietta Augusta Nevill , Lady (1830 – 1912)
B
- Barbara Ker-Seymer (1905 – 1993)
- Barbara Morgan (1900-1992)
- Barbara Pflaum (1912 – 2002)
- Beatrice Freyberger (1901 – N/K)
- Běla Kolářová (1923 – 2010)
- Berenice Abbott (1898 – 1991)
- Bertha Beckmann (1815 – 1901)
- Bessie Raynor Parkes (1829 – 1925)
- Betti Mautner (1892 – 1988)
- Birgit Jürgenssen (1949 – 2003)
- Blanche Henrietta Pechell née Shelley (1841 – 1898)
- Bobbi Baker Burrows (1945 – 2018)
C
- Camilla Koffler/Ylla (1911 – 1955)
- Carolee Schneemann (1939 – 2019)
- Carolina Mathilda Ranch (1860 – 1938)
- Caroline Emily Nevill, Lady (1829 – 1887)
- Caroline Margaret Kerrison, Lady (1819 – 1895)
- Caroline Taylor (1810 – 1876)
- Catherine Leroy (1944 – 2006)
- (Catherine) Mathilda Ranch (1860 – 1938)
- Catherine Verschoyle (1800 – 1882)
- Catherine Weed Barnes Ward (1851 – 1913)
- Cecilia Glaisher (1828 – 1892)
- Charlotte Perriand (1903 – 1999)
- Christina Broom (1862 – 1939)
- Claire Aho (1925 – 2015)
- Claude Cahun (1894 – 1954)
- Clementina Hawarden, Lady (1822 – 1865)
- Compton Collier (1899 – 19770
- Constance Fox Talbot (1811 – 1880)
- Consuelo Kanaga (1894 – 1978)
- Corinne Day (1962 – 2010)
- Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914 – 2000)
- Cui Xiuwen (1970 – 2018)
D
- Daisy Edis (1888 – 1964)
- Deborah Turbeville (1932 – 2013)
- Diane Arbus (1923 – 1971)
- Dickey Chapelle (1918 – 1965)
- Dora Horovitz (1897 – 1979)
- Dora Kallmus/Madame d’Ora (1881-1963)
- Dora Maar (1907 – 1997)
- Doreathea Lange (1895 – 1965)
- Dorothy Hickling (1880 – 1946)
- Dorothy Frances Edith Wilding (1893 – 1976)
E
- E Lennie (1818 – Unknown)
- E Toussaint Welcome, Madame (1885 – 1956)
- Edith Barakovitch (1896 – 1940)
- Edith Glogau (1898 – 1970)
- Edith Tudor Hart (1908 – 1973)
- Eiko Yamazawa (1899 -1995)
- Elfriede Mejchar (1924 – 2020)
- Elisabeth Buchmeyer Lewis (1935 – 2018)
- Elisabeth Hase (1905 – 1991)
- Elisabeth Meyer (1899-1968)
- Elise Forrest Harleston (1891 – 1970)
- Elizabeth Anne Finn née McCaul (1825 – 1921)
- Elizabeth Eastlake, Lady (1809 – 1893)
- Elizabeth Fulhame (1759 – 1810)
- Elizabeth Higgins (1828 – 1899)
- Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Le Blond/Hawkins-Whitshed (1860 – 1934)
- Elizabeth Louisa How (1821 – 1893)
- Elizabeth Pulman (1836 – 1900)
- Elizabeth Stockdale Wilkinson (1799 – 1871)
- Elizabeth Vignoles (1813 – 1880)
- Elizabeth Withington née Kirby (1825 – 1877)
- Ella Maillart (1903 – 1997)
- Ellen Auerbach (1906 – 2004)
- Elly Niebuhr (1914 – 2013
- Else Ernestine Neuländer-Simon/Yva (1900 – 1944)
- Emila Medkova (1928 – 1985)
- Emilie Janet Tyrell / Janet Jevons (1887 – 1972)
- Emily Anne Payne-Frankland,Lady (1821 – 1913)
- Emma Frances Johnston (1834 – 1905)
- Emma Jane Gay (1830 – 1919)
- Emma Rayson Barton (1872 – 1938)
- Emma Thomasina Llewellyn née Talbot (1808 – 1881)
- Emmi Fock (1898 – 1983)
- Emmy Andriesse (1914 – 1953)
- Emmy Bernatzik (1904 – 1977)
- Erika Hubatschek (1917 – 2010)
- Esther Bubley (1921 – 1998)
- Esther Parada (1938 – 2005)
- Eugenie Goldstern (1893 – 1942)
- Eva Besnyö (1910 – 2003)
- Eve Arnold (1912 – 2012)
- Eveleen Myers (1856 – 1937)
- Evelyn Hofer (1922 – 2009)
F
- Fanny Foster/Georgiana Fanny Julia Foster (1891-1975)
- Fay Godwin (1931 – 2005)
- Florence Henri (1893 – 1982)
- Florence Vandamn (1883 – 1966)
- Florence Vivienne Mellish aka Vivienne (1889 – 1982)
- Florestine Perrault Collins (1895 – 1988)
- Frances Anna Georgiana Kinnaird née Ponsonby, Lady (1817 – 1910)
- Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864 – 1952)
- Frances Elizabeth Bree* (1795 – 1906)
- Frances Jocelyn, Lady (1820 – 1880)
- Frances Monteith (1805 – 1898)
- Frances Sally Day (1816 – 1892)
- Francesca Woodman (1958 – 1981)
- Franki Raffles (1955 – 1994)
- Franziska Möllinger (1817 – 1880)
- Friedl Dicker (1911 – 1944)
* dates not verified
G
- Galina Sanko (1904 – 1981)
- Geneviève Élisabeth Disdéri (1817 – 1878)
- Genevieve Naylor (1915 – 1989)
- Georgiana Fanny Julia Foster/Fanny Foster (1891-1975)
- Gerda Taro (1910 – 1937)
- Germaine Krull (1879 – 1985)
- Gerti Deutsch (1908 – 1972)
- Gertrud Arndt (1903 – 2000)
- Gertrude Käsebier (1852 – 1934)
- Geta Brătescu (1926 – 2018)
- Gisèle Freund (1908 – 2000)
- Gisèle Wulfsohn (1957 – 2011)
- Grace Robertson (1930 – 2021)
- Grete Kolliner (1892 – 1933)
- Grete Stern (1904 – 1999)
H
- Hanna Maynard (1834 – 1918)
- Hannah Höch (1889 – 1978)
- Hannah Wilke (1940-1993)
- Hansel Mieth (1909 – 1998)
- Harriet Ann Tucker (1808 – 1875)
- Harriet V S Thorne (1843 – 1926)
- Harriet Tytler (1828 – 1907)
- Hazel Larsen Arche (1921 – 2001)
- Helena Almeida (1934 – 2018)
- Helen Chadwick (1953 – 1996)
- Helen Gee (1919 – 2004)
- Helen Levitt (1913 – 2009)
- Helen Messinger Murdoch (1862 – 1956)
- Henrietta Augusta Nevill , Lady/Augusta Mostyn (1830 – 1912)
- Hilde Hubbuch, Hilda Isay (1905 – 1971)
- Hilla Becher (1934 – 2015)
- Hilja Raviniemi (1915 – 1973)
- Homai Vyarawalla (1913 – 2012)
- Hou Bo (1924 – 2017)
I
- Ida Kar (1908 – 1974)
- Ilsa Stern (1912 – 1970)
- Ilse Bing (1899 – 1998)
- Imogen Cunningham (1883 – 1976)
- Inge Breder (1855 – 1933)
- Inge Morath (1923 – 2002)
- Ingeborg Strobl (1949 – 2017)
- Ira Wright Martin (1886 – 1960)
- Irena Blühová (1904 – 1991)
- Isabel Agnes Cowper (1826 – 1911)
J
- Jan Groover (1943 – 2012)
- Jane Bown (1925 – 2014)
- Jane Martha St. John (1801 – 1882)
- Jane Wigley (1820 – 1883)
- Janet Jevons (1894-1974/1887-1972)
- Jennie Louise Van Der Zee/Madame E Toussaint Welcome (1885 – 1956)
- Jessica Piazzi Smyth (1815 – 1896)
- Jessie Fergus (1794 – 1863)
- Jessie Mann (1805 – 1867)
- Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870 – 1942)
- Jo Spence (1934 – 1992)
- Joan Leigh Fermor (1912-2003)
- Judit Kárász (1912 – 1977)
- Judy Seigel (1930 – 2017)
- Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 – 1870)
- Julia Pirotte (1908 – 2000)
- Julia Shannon (1812 – 1852)
- Justine Henrietta Ross née Macrae (1813 – 1894)
K
- Karimeh Abbud (1893 – 1940)
- Käthe Buchler (1876 – 1930)
- Kati Horna (1912 – 2000)
- Katt Both (1905 – 1985)
- Khadija Saye (1992 – 2017)
L
- Lallie Charles (1869 – 1919)
- Laura Aguilar (1959 – 2018)
- Laura Gilpin (1891 – 1979)
- Laure Albin-Guillot (1879 -1962)
- Lee Miller (1907 – 1977)
- Lena Connell (1875 – 1949)
- Letizia Battaglia (1935 – 2022)
- Lilian Maria Fayer (1917 – 2014)
- Lillian Bassman (1917 – 2012)
- Linda McCartney (1941 – 1998)
- Lisa Larsen (1925 – 1959)
- Lisa Sheridan
- Lisalotte Grschebina (1908 – 1994)
- Lisette Model (1901 – 1983)
- Lizzie Le Blond/Elizabeth Le Blond (1860-1934)
- Lola Álvarez Bravo (1903 – 1993)
- Lora Webb Nichols (1883 – 1962)
- Lotte Hendrich-Hassman (1932 – 2007)
- Lotte Jacobi (1896 – 1990)
- Lotte Stam-Beese (1903 – 1988)
- Lou Landauer (1897 – 1991)
- Louise Dahl-Wolf (1895 – 1989)
- Lourdes Grobet (1940 – 2022)
- Lucia Moholy/Schulz (1894 – 1989)
M
- Madame d’Ora/Dora Kallmus (1881 – 1963)
- Madame E Toussaint Welcome/Jennie Louise Van Der Zee (1885 – 1956)
- Madame Yevonde/Yevonde Middleton (1893 – 1975)
- Margaret Bourke-White (1904 – 1971)
- Margaret Dreghorn Baillie (1821 – 1870)
- Margaret Harker (1920 – 2013)
- Margaret J Newton (fl. 1849)
- Margaret Watkins (1884 – 1969)
- Margarethe (Margaret) Gross (1902 – 1985)
- Margarita “Rita” Weir Martin (1875 – 1958)
- Maria Austria (1915 – 1975)
- Maria Chambefort (1818 – 1875)
- Mariana Yampolsky (1925 – 2002)
- Marianne Bergler (1897 – 1980)
- Marianne Brandt (1893-1983)
- Marie Lydie Cabannis Bonfils (1837 – 1918)
- Marie Cosindas (1923 – 2017)
- Marie Hansen (1918 – 1969)
- Marie Høeg (1866 – 1949)
- Marion Palfi (1907 – 1978)
- Marion Post Wolcott (1910 – 1990)
- Marjory L Wight (1889 – 1973)
- Marta Astfalck-Vietz (1901 – 1993)
- Marta Hoepffner (1912 – 2000)
- Martha Holmes (1923 – 2006)
- Martine Franck (1938 – 2012)
- Mary Ann Robb (1829 – 1912)
- Mary Dillwyn (1816 – 1906)
- Mary Ellen Mark (1940 – 2015)
- Mary Emma Lynn (1813 – 1903)
- Mary Jane Matheson née Percival, Lady (1821 – 1896)
- Mary Rosse, Lady (1813 – 1885)
- (Catherine) Mathilda Ranch (1860 – 1938)
- Maud Sulter (1960 – 2008)
- Minna Keene (1861 – 1943)
N
- Nadja Massün (1963 – 2022)
- Nancy Newhall (1908 – 1974)
- Nancy Sheung (1914 – 1979)
- Nina Leen (1909 – 1995)
- Norah Lyle-Smyth (1874 – 1963)
O
- Olive Cotton ( 1911 – 2003)
- Olive Edis (1876 – 1955)
- Ottilia Reizman (1914 – 1986)
P
- Pamela Chandler (1928 – 1993)
- Pauline Trevelyan, Lady (1816 – 1866)
- Pearl Freeman (active 1930 – 1960)
- Penny Tweedie (1940 – 2011)
- Pepa Feldscharek (1899 – 1962)
- Polixeni Papapetrou (1960 – 2018)
Q
Why not be the first to nominate a historical or legacy Heroine whose name begins with Q?
R
- Reva Brooks (1913 – 2001)
- Rita (Margarita) Weir Martin (1875 – 1958)
- Rollie McKenna (1918 – 2003)
- Rosa Jenik (1853 – 1913)
- Rose Mandel (1910 – 2002)
- Ruby Caroline Jevons/ Janet Jevons (1894 – 1974)
- Ruby Washington (1952 – 2018)
- Ruth Bernhard (1905 – 2006)
- Ruth Harriet Louise (1903 – 1940)
- Ruth Orkin (1921 – 1985)
S
- Sarah Angeline Acland (1849 – 1930)
- Sarah Anne Bright (1793 – 1866)
- Sarah Holcomb (early 19th C.)
- Sarah Louise Judd (1802 – 1886)
- Shima Ryū (1823 – 1900)
- Shirley Baker (1932 – 2014)
- Solveig Lund (1868 – 1943)
- Susan Eliza Evans née Gisborne (1834 – 1891)
- Sibylle Bergemann (1941 – 2010)
T
- Tee Corinne (1943 – 2006)
- Tessa Boffin (1960 – 1993)
- Thérèse Bonney (1894 – 1978)
- Thereza Story-Maskelyne (1834 – 1926)
- Tina Modotti (1896 – 1942)
- Tish Murtha (1956 – 2013)
- Toni Frissell (1907 – 1988)
- Trude Fleischmann (1895 – 1990)
- Trude Geiringer (1890 – 1981)
U
Ursula Pariser (1917 – 2010)
Ursula Powys-Lybbe (1910 – 1977)
V
- Vivian Maier (1926 – 2009)
- Vera Chytilova (1929 – 2014)
- Vera Jackson (1912 – 1999)
- Virginia Oldoini (1837 – 1899)
- Vivienne – Florence Vivienne Mellish (1889 – 1982)
W
- Winifred Casson (1908 – 1969)
- Winifred Hall Allen (Active 1930s)
XYZ
- Yevonde Middleton/Madame Yevonde (1895 – 1975)
- Ylla/Camilla Koffler (1911 – 1955)
- Yva/Else Ernestine Neuländer-Simon (1900 – 1944)
- Yvonne Gregory (1889 – 1970)
- Zaida Ben-Yusuf (1869 -1933)
- Zofia Rydet (1911 – 1997)
