“The Art of the Victorian Letter: New Research and the Alice Austen Collections” Session #1: “My Dear Alice: The Alice Austen Letter Collection”. Pamela Bannos in conversation with Victoria Munro

Bannos brought all of her skills as a researcher, writer, photographer and professor of art theory to her book “Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife.” During her research for that book, Bannos became familiar with Alice Austen – a street photographer like Maier. In 2020, Bannos worked with Alice Austen House Executive Director Victoria Munro to launch a journey into Austen’s world. Starting with Austen’s photographic cannon, Bannos’ circle of research expanded to uncover new discoveries through leads found in the entirety of Austen’s letter collection and her wide circle of friends. Bannos created an extensive family and friend tree for Austen that crosses the US and continually investigates new leads. Bannos is writing and producing a podcast to convey her findings and will give the audience a preview through this presentation, moderated by Munro.