In the second half of the 19th century, running a business, practicing a skilled trade, or, least of all, being an alpinist was far from easy if you were a woman. Photography—considered “dangerous” for the chemical processes involved and the weight of the equipment to be carried—and mountaineering were primarily male domains. In the early days, mountaineering and mountain photography were accessible mainly to confident, financially independent women from the upper middle class or nobility. Photos by women documenting their alpine adventures were often published under pseudonyms: the names of their husbands. Many female photographers worked in their husbands’ labs, and aside from running occasional ads in regional newspapers promoting their craft, women photographers such as Martha Attinger in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Hanni Bernhard, or Rose Marie Schudel-Ingold remained virtually unrecognized.

The first famous female mountain photographer was probably Franziska Möllinger (1817–1880) from Trier, Germany, who had come to Solothurn, Switzerland, with her family in 1836. As early as 1844, she produced daguerreotypes of the Bernese Oberland region in Switzerland and sold them as lithographs. One of the first women in mountain photography to match Vittorio Sella’s mountaineering and photography skills was Baroness Giulia de Rolland (1842–1929). In 1893, she contributed to a mountain photography exhibition which also featured Vittorio Sella. While Sella won the gold medal, she earned bronze and received a mention in the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) publications. However, none of her photos have survived. Many early alpinists, including Amelia Edwards (1873: “Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys”), Elizabeth Fox Tuckett (1871: “Zigzagging amongst Dolomites”), and Hermine Tauscher-Geduly (1843–1923), used their photos to illustrate detailed reports of their mountain tours. The period between 1865 and 1914 saw numerous wives of photographers active in mountaineering and mountain photography, and it would not be possible to include them all in this exhibition. Instead, four women photographers were selected to represent the group in this exhibition. Among them, Elizabeth Whitshed Main takes a special place as an outstanding photographer, alpinist, and the founder of winter alpinism in general and winter tourism in the region of Engadin, Switzerland, in particular. The exhibition also features works by Gertrude Bell, Eleonore Noll-Hasenclever, and Una Cameron, three distinguished alpinists, travel journalists, and women’s rights activists.

Curator: Richard Piock

An exhibition in cooperation with Soroptimist Club Pustertal