Minna Keene

Minna Keene, née Bergman, (5 April 1861 – November 1943) was a German-born, self-taught Canadian pictorial portrait photographer, considered "hugely successful".[1]

Keene was born in Arolsen, Germany, in 1861. She lived in Britain, South Africa, and Canada. She married Caleb Keene.[2] She died in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, in 1943.

Keene was an early female member of the Linked Ring,[3] a photographic society created to show that photography was just as much an art as it was a science, and to propel photography further into the fine art world. She was also a member of the London Salon of Photography and the first woman to be admitted as a fellow to the Royal Photographic Society.[4]

Biography

Born in Germany, Minna Bergmann married Caleb Keene (b. 1862) in Chelsea, London, in 1887. Caleb was a "decorator's apprentice" and brother of the landscape painter cum "photographic artist" Elmer Ezra Keene (1853–1929). Minna’s first mention in the photographic literature occurs in the late 1890s, when she is found submitting work (with some success) to competitions in the art journal The Studio and to a selection of regional photographic societies, including the Chelmsford Camera Club and Southsea Exhibition.[5] After immigrating to Canada in about 1913, Keene was commissioned by the CPR to photograph the Rockies (1914–15). In 1920, she opened a studio in Toronto, relocating to Oakville in 1922.

Despite innovating in and enriching photography, female photographers were not taken as seriously as their male counterparts. Keene won numerous prizes and established studios in South Africa and Canada; yet when she was featured in an article in Maclean's magazine in 1926, she was described as "a charming hostess" and a "home lover".[6] Her daughter Violet Keene was also a photographer.[7]

Awards

Publications with photographs by Keene
  • Rediscovery: Canadian Women Photographers 1841–1941. North London, Canada: London Regional Art Gallery, 1983. By Laura Jones. ISBN 978-0920872253. With work by 13 women: Rossetta E. Carr, Clara Dennis, M. J. Dukelow, Millie Gamble, Mattie Gunterman, Elsie Hollway, Minna Keene, Hannah Maynard, Annie G. McDougall, Geraldine Moodie, Gladys Reeves, Madge Smith, Edith S. Watson; exhibition catalogue; paperback, 36 pages. Includes 14 photographs and brief biographies of 12 of the photographers.[8]
  • Royal Photographic Society. Women by Women. Rohnert Park, CA: Pomegranate, 1996. With work by 12 women: Anne Brigman, Pamela Booth, Eleanor Parke Custis, Gertrude Käsebier, Madame D'Ora, Adelaide Hanscom, Minna Keene, Rosalinda Maingot, Gisela Markham-Szanto, Eveleen Myers, Hilda Stevenson, Dorothy Wilding; calendar format; 24 pages.

Exhibitions
  • 1910: Fifty-fifth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain[9]
  • 1911: Fifty-sixth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain[10]
  • 1913: Fifty-eighth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain[11]
  • 1983: Rediscovery: Canadian Women Photographers 1841-1941, London, Ontario, Canada
  • 2016: Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age, Tate Britain, London.[1][12][13]

Collections
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References
  1. Crompton, Sarah (6 May 2015). "She takes a good picture: six forgotten female pioneers of photography". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  2. Hedge of Wild Almonds: South Africa, the Pro-Boers and the Quaker Conscience, 1890–1910 by Hope Hay Hewison. James Currey Publishers, 1989. Page 375. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cuRwt6UF3WAC&dq=minna+keene+1908+Fellow,+Royal+Photographic+Society&source=gbs_navlinks_s
  3. "Keene, Minna", Canadian Women Artists History Initiative. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  4. Laura Jones. "Minna Keene". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  5. Hudson, Giles. "Minna Keene (1861–1943): Pictorial Portraitist". Matters Photographical. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  6. Crompton, Sarah. "She takes a good picture: six forgotten female pioneers of photography". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  7. "Minna Keene (1861–1943): Pictorial Portraitist". Matters Photographical.
  8. Canadian Reference Sources: An Annotated Bibliography: General Reference Works, History, Humanities. UBC Press, 1996. Mary E. Bond (compiler and editor) and Martine M. Caron (compiler). ISBN 9780774805650
  9. "Exhibition: 1910 Fifty-fifth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain". De Montfort University. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  10. "Exhibition: 1911 Fifty-sixth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain". De Montfort University. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  11. "Exhibition: 1913 Fifty-eighth Annual Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain". De Montfort University. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  12. Wullschlager, Jackie (13 May 2016). "'Painting with Light' at Tate Britain". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  13. "Painting with Light | Art in London". Time Out London.
  14. "Stock photo and image search by Science & Society Picture Library". www.scienceandsociety.co.uk.
  15. Smith, Rebecca (August 12, 2013). "Researching female photographers in our archives".
  16. "Catalogue description 'Photograph of gooseberries'. Copyright owner of work: Minna Keene, 112 Gloucester..." January 6, 1903 – via National Archive of the UK.
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