[Pickard's Penny Portrait of Alice and Gertrude]

American photographer, Alice Austen, met her life partner, Gertrude Tate, in 1899. The couple formed a loving and devoted relationship, built a life together, and supported one another for more than fifty years. They lived together at Clear Comfort, Alice's childhood home, for thirty years. The most apt description of Alice and Gertrude's relationship is "Boston Marriage." In the late 19th and 20th century, the term was used to describe to single women living together, independent of men. "Boston marriages" allowed independent, intellectually driven women to work outside the jome and have amorous and/or domestic relationships with other women.