Ian Pirie MacDonaldHonFRPS[1] (January 27, 1867 – April 22, 1942) was an American portrait photographer, New York City civic leader, and peace advocate.[2] He photographed over 70,000 men in the span of his career, including international heads of state, religious leaders, and artists.[3][4]
Photography career
Born in Chicago, MacDonald moved to Hudson, New York in 1883, where he worked as a photographer's apprentice prior to opening his own studio in Albany.[5] Upon gaining a reputation in portraiture, MacDonald made the decision to only photograph men, a decision that even applied to family photos, and from that point on dubbed himself "Pirie MacDonald – Photographer of Men".[3][5] His prolific body of work encompasses many well-known men of the early to mid-20th century including Spencer Trask, Woodrow Wilson, William Ralph Inge, Seán O'Casey and Antoine Lumiére,[5] all of which were taken within New York City save for Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Christian X of Denmark.[6] When asked about his most memorable portrait sittings, he listed Theodore Roosevelt as his most difficult subject.[7]
Personal life
MacDonald married Emilie Van Dusen in 1890.[5] Heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America organization, he founded the Norwalk Boy Scouts[8] and maintained a camp for the scouts on his White Oak Shade estate in Norwalk, Connecticut.[9]
MacDonald had a cerebral hemorrhage at White Oak Shade on April 18, 1942, and died at a New York hospital four days later. In accordance with his wishes, all photographic negatives of his works were destroyed.[5]
"Good Portraits Must be Planned - Interview with Pirie MacDonald". Popular Science. 139 (6). Bonnier Corporation: 206–209. December 1941. ISSN0161-7370.
"Speaking of Pictures...". Life. Vol. 14, no. 2. 11 January 1943. pp. 12–13. ISSN0024-3019.
References
^"Honorary Fellowship". The Royal Photographic Society (RSP). Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
^"Pirie Mdonald, at 75, works in his studio". The New York Times. 28 January 1942. pp. 27 Section: Sports. Retrieved 17 September 2018. Only twice in the time he has been established in this city has he taken pictures outside its environs. Once he went to Czechoslovakia to photograph president Jan Masaryk, then to Denmark to do King Christian X.