Adelin Beatrice "Lena" Connell, also known professionally as Beatrice Cundy, (27 July 1875 – 4 March 1949) was a British

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

and a well-known photographer whose work is held in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Life

Connell was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1875 to Frederic and Catherine Connell. Her father (and his father) had made high-class watches known as chronometers, but her father's interest moved to photography before he became a salesperson. The photography business made his daughters Dora and Alina into photographer's assistants and Adelina/Lena's career path was decided. Cicely Hamilton by Lena Connell 1910s

Connell started her own photography business and employed female staff. She was said to be the first woman photographer to take pictures of male subjects. Connell took pictures of leading members of the

Women's Freedom League The Women's Freedom League was an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigned for women's suffrage and sexual equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access ...

as well as

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...

and other suffrage leaders. She was intrigued by the suffrage cause after she was employed to take pictures of the suffragette

Gladice Keevil Gladice Georgina Keevil (later Mrs Rickford; 1884 – 1959) was a British suffragette who served as head of the Midlands office of the Women's Social and Political Union between 1908 and 1910. Early life Gladice was born and had her chi ...

after she was released from prison. Photographs of leading suffragettes were made into postcards and copies were sold to supporters as a method of raising funds. Connell was a member of the

WSPU The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and ...

in Hampstead and she collaborated with

Cicely Hamilton Cicely Mary Hamilton (née Hammill; 15 June 1872 – 6 December 1952), was an English actress, writer, journalist, suffragist and feminist, part of the struggle for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She is now best known for the feminist ...

Edith Craig Edith Ailsa Geraldine Craig ( Edith Godwin; 9 December 1869 – 27 March 1947), known as Edy Craig, was a prolific theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England. She was the daughte ...

's production of her iconic play "A Pageant of Women" by the

Pioneer Players Edith Ailsa Geraldine Craig ( Edith Godwin; 9 December 1869 – 27 March 1947), known as Edy Craig, was a prolific theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England. She was the daughte ...

. Connell's resulting portraits of the leading producers and players,

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

Christopher St John Christabel Gertrude Marshall (aka Christopher Marie St John) (24 October 1871 – 20 October 1960) was a British campaigner for women's suffrage, a playwright and author. Marshall lived in a ménage à trois with the artist Clare Atwood and ...

, Hamilton and Craig, were exhibited at the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

in 1910/1911. In 1911 Connell was advertising for an assistant in "The Suffragette" magazine to work at her studio in St John's Wood. Connell married Jack Cundy in 1914 and, in 1922, closed her shop and decided to specialise in "at-home" photography using her married name of Beatrice Cundy.

Death and legacy

Connell died in 1949. Copies of her photographs are held in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Lena 1875 births 1949 deaths Photographers from London 19th-century English photographers British women photographers English suffragettes 19th-century women photographers