May and Mina Moore

May Moore
Annie May Moore (1881-1931), by unknown photographer, 1900-15
Born	Annie May Moore 4 January 1881 Wainui, New Zealand
Died	10 June 1931 (aged 50) Pittwater, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Photographer
Nationality	Australian
Spouse	Henry Hammon Wilkes

Mina Moore
Minnie Louise Moore (1882-1957), self-portrait
Born	Minnie Louise Moore 6 October 1882 Wainui, New Zealand
Died	30 January 1957 (aged 74) Croydon, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Photographer
Nationality	Australian
Spouse	William Tainish

May and Mina Moore were Australian photographers born in 1881 and 1882 respectively.^[1] They were well known for their unique Rembrandt style portrait photography, with images often depicting famous artists, musicians and writers of the era.^[2][3]

Life

Annie May Moore was born in Wainui, New Zealand, on 4 January 1881. Annie became an older sister to Minnie Louise Moore on 6 October 1882. Their mother, Sarah Jane née Hellyer was born in New Zealand, while their father Robert Walter Moore originally came from England. Robert Walter Moore was a farmer and sawyer.^[2]

When Annie May was just a young girl, her mother had already become aware of her talent for art, and encouraged her to begin her studies, which she did so at The Elam School of Fine Arts, located in Auckland, New Zealand.^[3] It was sometime between the years of 1906 and 1907, at the New Zealand International Exhibition (1906) located in Christchurch, that Annie May had begun to make money from her talents, selling Ink and Pencil sketches.^[2]

Career

When the sisters first began practicing photography, they didn't obtain a great deal of knowledge on the subject, but both were keen to learn quickly. May had met a photographer in Wellington, New Zealand who was eagerly looking to part ways with his artist studio, and from that point onwards it was decided that the sisters, who already possessed a considerable amount of love and appreciation for art, would start a career in photography. Having no previous knowledge of how to run a photographic studio, the staff from the previous owner were subsequently hired by May and Mina.^[3]

Mina was a quick learner, and within 6 weeks she had managed to learn the duties of not only the reception area, but had also picked up how to develop, print and mount images taken in their new studio.^[3]

The sisters were gaining a great reputation around Wellington in quite a short period of time, and in 1910 there was word coming from Australia, of two women photographers who had flourishing business's in the city of Melbourne. It was around this time that May decided to embark on a holiday to Australia, leaving Mina behind to continue operating the studio in Wellington. May's holiday in Australia inevitably turned into a much longer stay, and was given the opportunity to utilize a small studio space in a building used by The Bulletin.^[1] One of May's most notable images during her time at The Bulletin building, was a portrait of American born, Australian cartoonist Livingston Hopkins, aka "Hop".

In 1913, Mina decided to join her sister in Australia, and there, she too rented out a studio which was situated in the Auditorium Buildings on Collins Street, Melbourne. This wasn't Mina's first visit to Australia, having visited the country five years earlier, with a Box Brownie given to her by her sister May. A friend of Mina's, Ian Lloyd, developed the images and it was during that moment while watching the process, that she first became truly intrigued about the world of photography. While working in Melbourne, Mina became friends with a woman who worked as a freelance journalist and the pair began to work together, with Mina photographing whoever the journalist had planned to interview. These images were typically taken while the journalist was conducting the interview, which in turn gave Mina a better opportunity in which to capture a subject's more natural side.

May Moore, in 1916 was asked by the Austral-Briton to compose articles for their paper, one of which called "Photography for Women", was a great example of how May was a strong advocate for women photographers. Not only did May encourage more women to take up the art of photography, but she also only ever employed females in her own professional studios.^[3] A year before on 13 July 1915, May Moore was married to Henry Hammon Wilkes, a dentist, at St. Phillips Church, Sydney. Henry was possibly the only man working for May in those days, after Henry willingly gave up his dental practice to help his wife with her photography business.^[2]

Mina Moore, and William Alexander Tainsh were married on 20 December 1916, and two years later in 1918 with a baby daughter to take care of, she retired from professional photography. Mina didn't photograph again professionally until 1927, when she was commissioned by Shell to do a series of portraits. Having no dark room at the time, Mina used her kitchen in the daytime, and her bathroom in her family home at night, to develop and process the images. The job was completed over three months, with an assistant by her side. After having her love for photography rekindled by the work she did for Shell, Mina considered starting up her photography business again. But family was still her biggest calling, and decided against it.^[3] Eventually Mina's family consisted of not only herself and her husband, but two daughters, and also a son.^[2]

Around 1928, due to an illness, May Moore was forced into retirement, but this didn't stop her passion for art. May found another creative outlet in painting landscapes. May Moore was Anglican, and eventually became a Christian Scientist. She was also a member of the Lyceum Club, the Musical Association of New South Wales, the Society of Women Painters and the Professional Photographers' Association of Australia.^[2]

The sisters didn't gain a lot of recognition for their work and therefore it has become difficult to come by in current modern times, mostly due to their work being kept in places such as State Libraries as opposed to being displayed in galleries.^[3]

Death

Annie May Moore died from cancer in the comfort of her Pittwater home on 10 June 1931. Her remains were laid to rest at the Manly Cemetery in the Anglican area of the grounds. 6 months had passed after May's death, and a Memorial Exhibition of her portraits were displayed at the Lyceum Club.^[2]

Minnie Louise Moore died in Croydon, Victoria on 30 January 1957. Her remains were cremated.^[2]

References

1. Newton, Gael (1988). Shades of Light. Canberra: Australian National Gallery. p. 92. ISBN 0642081522.
2. "Annie May More/Minnie Louise Moore". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
3. Hall, Mather, Barbara, Jenni (1986). Australian Women Photographers 1840-1960. Brisbane: Greenhouse. ISBN 0864360398.