Mary Gay Beattie
SubjectPortrait of
Mary Gay Beattie
Irish, 1844 - 1928
PhotographerPhotographed by
William Crooke
Scottish, 1849 - 1928
Datec. 1880-1889
MediumPhotography; nitrate negatives
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineBequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie
DescriptionBlack and white photographic negative of a photograph of a portrait photograph of Mary Gay Beattie taken in Edinburgh, Scotland by W. Crooke, c. 1880s. The original portrait rests on a ruled table and appears to be the size of a cartes-de-visite. Mary Gay Beattie is shown in a bust-length view, she wears a highly decorated bodice in a dark color with exaggerated shoulders and a high neckline. At the center of the neckline, she wears a brooch. Her dark hair is styled in a chignon on the crown of her head, and she is wearing dangling earrings.
This negative is a 20th century photograph of a 19th century photograph.
This negative is a 20th century photograph of a 19th century photograph.
Object number2023.17.76
CopyrightPublic Domain
MarkingsFilm base identifying notches in upper right corner.Inscribed(.75-.76) Typed on envelope: “PERSONNEL / Portraits of John and Mary Gay Beattie / made in Edinburgh by W. Crooke of Princess Street. / Mary and John were on a vacation trip / looking into matters of real estate / in Scotland owned by his ancestors. / It was some time in the 1880’s. They / Went over on the new steamship, [error overtyped with capital Xs] / CITY OF NEW YORK of the Inman Line."NotesSubject Note: John Beattie's granite quarry, situated in Guilford on the Long Island Sound, was well-positioned to distribute granite via a fleet of schooners to locations in Connecticut and New York. Notably, granite from Beattie's quarry was used in the pedestal at the base of the Statue of Liberty.The quarry operated from 1869, when Scottish immigrant Beattie purchased 400 acres of land on Leetes Island, until about 1918, when Beattie's sons closed up shop 20 years after his death. At its height, the quarry employed 700 people, many of them immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, England, Finland, Sweden, and Italy.
On View
Not on view
1890
1890-1918
1905-1906