Lena Connell facts for kids

Adelin Beatrice "Lena" Connell (born July 27, 1875 – died March 4, 1949) was a talented British photographer. She was also a suffragette, which means she was a woman who actively worked for women to get the right to vote. Lena Connell was known for taking pictures of important people, and her work is now kept in the famous National Portrait Gallery in London. She sometimes used the professional name Beatrice Cundy.

Lena Connell's Life Story

Lena Connell was born in London, England, in 1875. Her parents were Frederic and Catherine Connell. Her father and grandfather were skilled watchmakers who made very accurate watches called chronometers. However, Lena's father became interested in photography. This led his daughters, Dora, Alina, and Lena, to become photography assistants. This is how Lena's career in photography began.

Cicely Hamilton was a leading campaigner and they worked together. Photo by Connell from the 1910s

Lena Connell started her very own photography business. She made sure to hire other women to work for her. It is said that she was the first woman photographer to take pictures of male subjects. This was quite unusual at the time.

Photography and the Suffragette Movement

Lena Connell took many pictures of important members of the Women's Freedom League. She also photographed Emmeline Pankhurst and other leaders of the suffrage movement. Lena became very interested in the cause after she was hired to photograph Gladice Keevil. Gladice was a suffragette who had just been released from prison.

Photographs of leading suffragettes were turned into postcards. These postcards were sold to supporters to help raise money for the movement. Lena Connell herself was a member of the WSPU in Hampstead. She worked with Cicely Hamilton on a play called "A Pageant of Women." This play was produced by the Pioneer Players. Lena's portraits of the main people involved, including Ellen Terry, Christopher St John, Hamilton, and Edith Craig, were shown at the Royal Photographic Society in 1910 and 1911.

In 1911, Lena Connell even advertised for an assistant in "The Suffragette" magazine. She needed help at her studio in St John's Wood. Lena married Jack Cundy in 1914. In 1922, she closed her studio. She then decided to focus on "at-home" photography, using her married name, Beatrice Cundy.

Later Life and Legacy

Lena Connell passed away in 1949. Many copies of her photographs are now kept in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Her work helps us remember the important people and events of her time, especially the fight for women's right to vote.