Pirie MacDonald
{{Short description|American photographer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pirie MacDonald
| honorific_suffix = HonFRPS
| image = Pirie MacDonald 1909.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Portrait of Pirie MacDonald published in 1909
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1867|01|27|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|04|22|1867|01|27|mf=yes}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| known_for = Early and mid-20th century portraiture
| occupation = Photographer
| signature = Pirie MacDonald Signature.png
}}
Ian Pirie MacDonald HonFRPS{{Cite web|title=Honorary Fellowship|url=https://rps.org/about/awards/history-and-recipients/honorary-fellowship/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126000621/https://rps.org/about/awards/history-and-recipients/honorary-fellowship/|archive-date=January 26, 2021|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=The Royal Photographic Society (RSP)}} (January 27, 1867 – April 22, 1942) was an American portrait photographer, New York City civic leader, and peace advocate.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JFUpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2W0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4785,1544752&dq=pirie-macdonald&hl=en|title=Advocate of Peace Talks...|date=November 25, 1930|newspaper=The Norwalk Hour|accessdate=May 6, 2010}} He photographed over 70,000 men in the span of his career, including international heads of state, religious leaders, and artists.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VWIsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7coEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2510,2186148&dq=pirie-macdonald&hl=en|title=Ace Photographer Gives Big Secret|date=January 28, 1942|newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal|accessdate=May 6, 2010}}{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/278277172.html?dids=278277172:278277172&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Apr+23%2C+1942&author=&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=Ian+Pirie+MacDonald&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026142541/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/278277172.html?dids=278277172:278277172&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Apr+23,+1942&author=&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=Ian+Pirie+MacDonald&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2012|title=Ian Pirie MacDonald - obituary|date=April 23, 1942|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|accessdate=May 6, 2010}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://dlib.nyu.edu/eadapp/transform?source=nyhs/pirie.xml&style=nyhs/nyhs.xsl&part=body|title=Pirie MacDonald collection|publisher=New-York Historical Society|accessdate=May 6, 2010}} 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". 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, all of which were taken within New York City save for Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Christian X of Denmark.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/01/28/archives/pirie-mdonald-at-75-works-in-his-studio-noted-photographer-of-men.html|title=Pirie Mdonald, at 75, works in his studio|date=January 28, 1942|work=The New York Times|pages=27 Section: Sports|accessdate=September 17, 2018|quote=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.}} When asked about his most memorable portrait sittings, he listed Theodore Roosevelt as his most difficult subject.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XjkbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LUoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3438,3832096&dq=pirie-macdonald&hl=en|title=Roosevelt Most Difficult Man To Photograph |date=September 10, 1927|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|accessdate=May 6, 2010}}
Personal life
MacDonald married Emilie Van Dusen in 1890. Heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America organization, he founded the Norwalk Boy Scouts{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dWYtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t4kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4757,3109533&dq=pirie-macdonald&hl=en|title=Chapter Notes|date=December 21, 2000|newspaper=The Norwalk Hour|accessdate=May 6, 2010}} and maintained a camp for the scouts on his White Oak Shade estate in Norwalk, Connecticut.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ow0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=5W0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4264,4082610&dq=pirie-macdonald&hl=en|title=Pirie MacDonald Cabin Swept by 1,500 Fire|date=October 18, 1930|newspaper=The Norwalk Hour|accessdate=May 6, 2010}}
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.
Gallery
File:Theodore Roosevelt by Pirie MacDonald cph.3a14470.jpg|Theodore Roosevelt
US President
File:William Butler Yeats.jpg|William Butler Yeats
Poet
File:Albert Payson Terhune cph.3a03823.jpg|Albert Payson Terhune
Writer
File:Bruce Bairnsfather cph.3a03821.jpg|Bruce Bairnsfather
Cartoonist
File:Bliss Carman cph.3b15835.jpg|Bliss Carman
Poet
File:Charles Dana Gibson cph.3b11258.jpg|Charles Dana Gibson
Illustrator
File:Elihu Root cph.3b04509.jpg|Elihu Root
Statesman
File:Jacob Riis 2.jpg|Jacob Riis
Journalist
File:Sherwood Anderson cph.3b16123.jpg|Sherwood Anderson
Playwright
Honors
- New York Rotary Club - Past President{{cite web|url=http://www.iphf.org/Hall_Of_Fame/Inducties_Bios/Pirie_McDonald_Bio.html|title=International Photography Hall of Fame profile|publisher=International Photography Hall of Fame|accessdate=May 6, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718165344/http://www.iphf.org/Hall_Of_Fame/Inducties_Bios/Pirie_McDonald_Bio.html|archivedate=July 18, 2011}}
- Photographer's Association of America - Lifetime Member
- Honorary Master of Photography
- Officer of the French Academy - Order of the Palm
- Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain - Honorary Fellow
- Professional Photographers' Society of New York - President 1905 and 1907{{cite web|url=http://www.ppsnys.com/pastpresidents.html |title=Past Presidents |publisher=Professional Photographers' Society of New York |accessdate=May 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118215555/http://ppsnys.com/pastpresidents.html |archivedate=November 18, 2008 }}
- In 1980 Pirie MacDonald was posthumously inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.{{Cite web |title=Pirie MacDonald |url=https://iphf.org/inductees/pirie-macdonald/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=International Photography Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}
Further reading
- {{cite journal|date=December 1941|title=Good Portraits Must be Planned - Interview with Pirie MacDonald|journal=Popular Science|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|volume=139|issue=6|pages=206–209|issn=0161-7370}}
- {{cite magazine|date=January 11, 1943|title=Speaking of Pictures...|magazine=Life|volume=14|issue=2|pages=12–13|issn=0024-3019}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/pirie/index.html The Pirie MacDonald Portrait Photograph Collection at the New York Historical Society]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Pirie}}
Category:American portrait photographers
Category:Photographers from New York City
Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques
Category:Fellows of the Royal Photographic Society