Gabriel Harrison (March 25, 1818 â€" December 15, 1902) was an
American photographer, actor, playwright, painter, and writer active
in New York City. Born in Philadelphia to an engraver father, Harrison
came to New York with his family at age six. He made his theatrical
debut in 1838 as the title character in Shakespeare's Othello opposite
Lester Wallack. Harrison began his photography career in the gallery
of John Plumbe around 1844, and worked for Martin M. Lawrence from
1847 to 1851. He moved to Brooklyn in 1851, opened his own gallery in
Brooklyn in 1852, and remained in photography until the early 1860s.
His notable photographs include a daguerreotype of Walt Whitman that
was engraved in the title page of Leaves of Grass, The Infant Savior
bearing the cross (ca. 1850), and California News, a daguerreotype
noted for its staged narrative rather than being a simple portrait.
His written works include a dramatization of Hawthorne's The Scarlet
Letter and biographies of actors John Howard Payne and Edwin Forrest.
He supported free art schools in connection with the Brooklyn Academy
of Design, of which he was a founder, and was also a portrait and
landscape painter. He died in Brooklyn at age 84, and his children
include daughters Viola and Beatrice and son George Washington
Harrison.Plays:Books:
American photographer, actor, playwright, painter, and writer active
in New York City. Born in Philadelphia to an engraver father, Harrison
came to New York with his family at age six. He made his theatrical
debut in 1838 as the title character in Shakespeare's Othello opposite
Lester Wallack. Harrison began his photography career in the gallery
of John Plumbe around 1844, and worked for Martin M. Lawrence from
1847 to 1851. He moved to Brooklyn in 1851, opened his own gallery in
Brooklyn in 1852, and remained in photography until the early 1860s.
His notable photographs include a daguerreotype of Walt Whitman that
was engraved in the title page of Leaves of Grass, The Infant Savior
bearing the cross (ca. 1850), and California News, a daguerreotype
noted for its staged narrative rather than being a simple portrait.
His written works include a dramatization of Hawthorne's The Scarlet
Letter and biographies of actors John Howard Payne and Edwin Forrest.
He supported free art schools in connection with the Brooklyn Academy
of Design, of which he was a founder, and was also a portrait and
landscape painter. He died in Brooklyn at age 84, and his children
include daughters Viola and Beatrice and son George Washington
Harrison.Plays:Books:
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