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.

Historical Heroines

Women photographers active at some point between the late 18th Century and the mid-20th Century

Legacy Heroines

Women photographers active at some point between the mid-20th Century and the present day.

Discover

If you’re excited to explore but are unsure of where to start, take a look at some of our Heroine Past blogs.

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

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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

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

D

E

F

* dates not verified

G

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

J

  • Jan Groover  (1943 – 2012)
  • Jane Bown  (1925 – 2014)
  • Jane Martha St. John (1801 – 1882)
  • Jane Wigley (1820 – 1883)
  • 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

L

M

N

O

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 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)
  • Susan Eliza Evans née Gisborne  (1834 – 1891)
  • Sibylle Bergemann (1941 – 2010)

T

U

Ursula Pariser (1917 – 2010)

Ursula Powys-Lybbe (1910 – 1977)

V

W

  • Winifred Casson  (1908 – 1969)
  • Winifred Hall Allen (Active 1930s)

XYZ

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