Alfred Ellis

Alfred Ellis (5 May 1854–13 April 1930) was an English photographer who mainly photographed "theatrical royalty" such as Oscar Wilde and Dan Leno. Over 180 of his photographic portraits are held by the National Portrait Gallery in London. Early life and career Ellis was born in St Pancras, London in 1854, the son of Edward George Ellis, a builder. He had a studio on Baker Street in London from 1884 until 1898. From 1898 to 1918 he was in partnership with Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg as Alfred Ellis & Walery in new premises on Baker Street. Ellis has 180 portraits listed in the national collection in the National Portrait Gallery in London, mainly of "theatrical royalty". Ellis and Ostroróg appear to have kept their authorship and sitters separate, while sharing studio facilities. Prints of his photographs were published in The Illustrated London News as wood-engravings. From 1883 Ellis was a member of the Photographic Society (which later became the Royal Photographic Society). He was one of the founders of the Professional Photographers' Association and at various times acted as Secretary (1901-1903), President (1903 and 1919), and General Secretary (1919 until his death). He specialised in theatrical photography, at first recreating scenes from theatrical productions in his studio and later photographing them in situ in the theatres. Among these is his historically important image of the original production of Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) by Oscar Wilde at St James's Theatre in London. Showing a scene from Act III, it depicts the actors George Alexander, H. H. Vincent, James Nutcombe Gould, Adolphus Vane-Tempest and Benjamin Webster. Legal cases Ellis took a leading role in protecting the copyright of photographers, fighting several cases in the High Courts.