The Darned Club

Images 9 & 10: Without the restraints and responsibilities of husband or children, Alice was free to explore her passions: photography, sports, gardening, friends, and travel. In 1888, 22 year old Alice carried fifty pounds of camera equipment up the Hudson River to Storm King photographing the pastoral landscapes and historic homes. Did some of her chums from “The Darned Club” accompany her there? Alice adored her best friends, Trude, Julia and Sue. What fun they would have had!
Text by: Liza Cowan, artist and archivist at DYKE, A Quarterly Online Annotated Archives. In 1976, DYKE, A Quarterly published the first essay, and cover, of Alice Austen acknowledging and celebrating her as a Lesbian.