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Alexander Keighley
Alexander Keighley (3 February 1861 – 2 August 1947) was an English amateur photographer who became one of the most influential members of the Pictorialist movement in Great Britain in the 20th century.
Alexander Keighley was the son of a wealthy Yorkshire mill owner. His father, Joseph Keighley, was of knightly descent. Keighley studied at the Keighley Trade and Grammar School, which later came to be known as the Mechanics Institute. The institute placed an emphasis on science and practical skills. Keighley was particularly interested in biology and won a scholarship to continue his scientific studies at the School of Mines (later the Royal College of Science) in London. He was particularly enthusiastic about the lectures by Thomas Huxley, with whom he studied biology, geology and botany. In 1879 he became a founding member of the Keighley Scientific and Literary Society. Keighley then planned to study medicine, but no sooner had his courses finished than his father obliged him to join the family business. Keighley would go on to become a director of the Sudgen Keighley Company in 1886 and remain so until his retirement in 1923.
In 1905 Keighley married Lily Howroyd of Bradford. Alexander Keighley died on 2 August 1947, in the town that shares his name, Keighley.
When Keighley gave his first public lecture on the geology of Airedale, at a Yorkshire Naturalist's Union outing in 1883, he saw a geologist using the new photographic dry plate. This inspired Keighley to obtain some photographic equipment and set up a darkroom in the attic.
He started by photographing his family and relatives, and their homes and gardens. Influenced by Henry Peach Robinson's work and writings, he also tried his hand at pictorialist photography. Keighley soon joined the Bradford Photographic Society, which was mainly interested in the technical processes of photography.
His first major success was in 1887, when he submitted twelve prints to a competition held by the journal The Amateur Photographer. Jury member P.H. Emerson would later criticize his then orientation towards sharp focus and called him a "gum-splodger". Despite this Keighley still managed to win, and be placed ahead of Alfred Stieglitz, who only achieved second place. In 1889 he contributed four photographs to a major exhibition of the Photographic Society of Great Britain (later known as the Royal Photographic Society).
In 1892, Keighley joined a group of well-known amateur photographers who, due to insufficient recognition of their art, would go on to found the Linked Ring group. Over the next 15 years Keighley's work received some limited recognition in the press. In 1898 Keighley became President of the Bradford Photographic Society, whose exhibitions were held at the Bradford Art Gallery and from which the Yorkshire Photographic Union was formed in 1899. It was on the death in 1908 of the photographer A. Horsley Hinton that Keighley became 'the most prominent landscapist within the British pictorial school'.
In 1910, he joined the Royal Photographic Society (RPS). In the same year, the RPS organised his first solo exhibition in London. A year later, he became a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. From then on, Keighley's work was presented in many solo and group exhibitions. In 1924, he became an honorary member of the RPS. From 1938 to 1939, Keighley drove 6,000 miles across South Africa to keep in touch with the photographic organizations there.
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Alexander Keighley
Alexander Keighley (3 February 1861 – 2 August 1947) was an English amateur photographer who became one of the most influential members of the Pictorialist movement in Great Britain in the 20th century.
Alexander Keighley was the son of a wealthy Yorkshire mill owner. His father, Joseph Keighley, was of knightly descent. Keighley studied at the Keighley Trade and Grammar School, which later came to be known as the Mechanics Institute. The institute placed an emphasis on science and practical skills. Keighley was particularly interested in biology and won a scholarship to continue his scientific studies at the School of Mines (later the Royal College of Science) in London. He was particularly enthusiastic about the lectures by Thomas Huxley, with whom he studied biology, geology and botany. In 1879 he became a founding member of the Keighley Scientific and Literary Society. Keighley then planned to study medicine, but no sooner had his courses finished than his father obliged him to join the family business. Keighley would go on to become a director of the Sudgen Keighley Company in 1886 and remain so until his retirement in 1923.
In 1905 Keighley married Lily Howroyd of Bradford. Alexander Keighley died on 2 August 1947, in the town that shares his name, Keighley.
When Keighley gave his first public lecture on the geology of Airedale, at a Yorkshire Naturalist's Union outing in 1883, he saw a geologist using the new photographic dry plate. This inspired Keighley to obtain some photographic equipment and set up a darkroom in the attic.
He started by photographing his family and relatives, and their homes and gardens. Influenced by Henry Peach Robinson's work and writings, he also tried his hand at pictorialist photography. Keighley soon joined the Bradford Photographic Society, which was mainly interested in the technical processes of photography.
His first major success was in 1887, when he submitted twelve prints to a competition held by the journal The Amateur Photographer. Jury member P.H. Emerson would later criticize his then orientation towards sharp focus and called him a "gum-splodger". Despite this Keighley still managed to win, and be placed ahead of Alfred Stieglitz, who only achieved second place. In 1889 he contributed four photographs to a major exhibition of the Photographic Society of Great Britain (later known as the Royal Photographic Society).
In 1892, Keighley joined a group of well-known amateur photographers who, due to insufficient recognition of their art, would go on to found the Linked Ring group. Over the next 15 years Keighley's work received some limited recognition in the press. In 1898 Keighley became President of the Bradford Photographic Society, whose exhibitions were held at the Bradford Art Gallery and from which the Yorkshire Photographic Union was formed in 1899. It was on the death in 1908 of the photographer A. Horsley Hinton that Keighley became 'the most prominent landscapist within the British pictorial school'.
In 1910, he joined the Royal Photographic Society (RPS). In the same year, the RPS organised his first solo exhibition in London. A year later, he became a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. From then on, Keighley's work was presented in many solo and group exhibitions. In 1924, he became an honorary member of the RPS. From 1938 to 1939, Keighley drove 6,000 miles across South Africa to keep in touch with the photographic organizations there.