Gabriel Harrison (March 25, 1818 – 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.
[1] 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,
[2] and
California News, a daguerreotype noted for its staged narrative rather than being a simple portrait.
[3] His written works include a dramatization of Hawthorne's
The Scarlet Letter and biographies of actors
John Howard Payne and
Edwin Forrest.
[4] 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.
[4] He died in
Brooklyn at age 84, and his children include daughters Viola and Beatrice and son George Washington Harrison.
[5][6][1] from Wikipedia
