Marcus Algernon Adams (15 May 1875 – 9 April 1959) was a British society photographer noted for his portraits of children. Adams was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, the son of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

-based photographer Walton Adams. He began his career as an architectural photographer for the

British Archaeological Association The British Archaeological Association (BAA) was founded in 1843 and aims to inspire, support and disseminate high quality research in the fields of Western archaeology, art and architecture, primarily of the mediaeval period, through lectures, con ...

and took photographs for books by the antiquarian C.E. Keyser. With fellow photographers Bertram Park and Parks' wife

Yvonne Gregory Yvonne Gregory (1889–1970) was a British society photographer. Gregory married fellow photographer Bertram Park in 1916. Gregory, Park and Marcus Adams established themselves as the "Three Photographers" and based their collective studio ...

, Adams formed the "Three Photographers" group in 1920. Based at 43 Dover Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, they each worked independently, but shared use of printing, retouching and darkroom staff. Gaining notability for his portraits of children Adams took the first official photographs of the Duchess of York and her daughter Princess Elizabeth (the future

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

). His 1934 photograph of Princess Elizabeth at the age of 8 was used as the portrait for the $20 banknote of the 1935 Series of

banknotes of the Canadian dollar Banknotes of the Canadian dollar are the banknotes or bills (in common lexicon) of Canada, denominated in Canadian dollars (CAD, C$, or $ locally). Currently, they are issued in $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations. All current notes are i ...

. He continued his work as a photographer of royal children until a sitting with

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

in 1956. Other notable children photographed by Adams included

Christopher Robin Milne Christopher Robin Milne (21 August 1920 – 20 April 1996) was an English author and bookseller and the only child of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories a ...

John Julius Norwich John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality. Background Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...

and Simone Prendergast. He joined 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 1914 and gained his Fellowship in 1915. He was made a life Fellow in 1953 and remained a member until his death.Information from the Royal Photographic Society's membership records. Accessed 18 June 2019. He died in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, aged 83.''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' His son, Gilbert Adams (born 24 November 1906), also became a photographer and artist specialising in oil portraiture and landscapes mainly in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Gilbert assisted his father in his early career. He also joined the

in 1935, gaining his Associateship in 1935 and Fellowship in 1938. His great grandson, Andrew Adams has followed in the family tradition and is also a professional photographer running a wedding and marine photography business in Hampshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Marcus 1875 births 1959 deaths Photographers from Hampshire Architectural photographers Artists from Reading, Berkshire People from Southampton