Lady Researchers Wanted for Lady Photographers: Mrs. Strong and the Bertolacci Sisters
Presentation Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2026 11:32 AM
Description
Speakers: Annebella Pollen and Jayne Knight
In 2024, the cartes-de-visite collector and founding member of the Photographic Collectors’ Club of Great Britain, Ron Cosens, approached Annebella Pollen with a dilemma. The PCCGB was planning a commemorative book to mark its 50th anniversary on Victorian Studio Photographers with 50 biographical essays. However, none of the book’s contributors were women and none had selected women as their subjects. To participate, contributors needed to be PCCGB members, and the organisation attracts few women. Annebella Pollen and Jayne Knight will discuss their contributions to this important project and reflect on the broader challenges of centering women’s photography histories.
Annebella Pollen is Professor of Visual and Material Culture at University of Brighton. She is the author of five books on art and design history and is widely published in photography studies. Her next book and exhibition project, out 2026 and funded by a three-year Philip Leverhulme Prize, examines the history of photography by children.
Jayne Knight is 2025-26 Assistant National Curator of Photography at the National Trust. She completed her PhD in 2024 on the history of popular photography in the Kodak Museum as an AHRC-funded collaborative project between University of Brighton and National Science and Media Museum.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Pollen, Annebella and Knight, Jayne, "Lady Researchers Wanted for Lady Photographers: Mrs. Strong and the Bertolacci Sisters" (2026). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day. 26.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2026/schedule/26
Lady Researchers Wanted for Lady Photographers: Mrs. Strong and the Bertolacci Sisters
Speakers: Annebella Pollen and Jayne Knight
In 2024, the cartes-de-visite collector and founding member of the Photographic Collectors’ Club of Great Britain, Ron Cosens, approached Annebella Pollen with a dilemma. The PCCGB was planning a commemorative book to mark its 50th anniversary on Victorian Studio Photographers with 50 biographical essays. However, none of the book’s contributors were women and none had selected women as their subjects. To participate, contributors needed to be PCCGB members, and the organisation attracts few women. Annebella Pollen and Jayne Knight will discuss their contributions to this important project and reflect on the broader challenges of centering women’s photography histories.
Annebella Pollen is Professor of Visual and Material Culture at University of Brighton. She is the author of five books on art and design history and is widely published in photography studies. Her next book and exhibition project, out 2026 and funded by a three-year Philip Leverhulme Prize, examines the history of photography by children.
Jayne Knight is 2025-26 Assistant National Curator of Photography at the National Trust. She completed her PhD in 2024 on the history of popular photography in the Kodak Museum as an AHRC-funded collaborative project between University of Brighton and National Science and Media Museum.