Margaret Florence Harker (17 January 1920 – 16 February 2013), was a British photographer and historian of photography. She was the UK's first woman professor of photography, founded the country's first photography degree course, and was the first woman to be president of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

Early life

Margaret Florence Harker was born on 17 January 1920 at 18 Queens Road,

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

, Lancashire, the daughter of Thomas Henry Harker (1879–1947), a medical practitioner, and his wife, Ethel Dean Harker, née Dyson (1894–1975). She was educated at Howell's School in

Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...

, followed by the Southport School of Art. Her father was a keen amateur photographer, and her parents supported her when from 1940 to 1943, she studied photography at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

(now the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

Career

Harker started her career an

architectural photographer Early architectural photographers include Roger Fenton, Francis Frith (Middle East and Britain), Samuel Bourne, Inclined Studio (India) and Albert Levy (photographer), Albert Levy (United States and Europe). They paved the way for the modern specia ...

, contributing to the National Buildings Record beginning from its 1941 establishment, and in excess of 1,000 of her negatives are held by its successor body at

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. Harker joined the

in 1941, was elected a Fellow in 1943, served on its council from 1951 to 1976, and chaired the applied photographic distinction panel from 1951 until 1992. Harker also became the honorary curator of the society's collection of historic photographs. From 1958 to 1960, Harker was the first woman to be president of the

. In 1943, Harker became a full-time lecturer at

, and in 1959 became the head of its School of Photography. Harker started the UK's first degree course in photography at the Polytechnic of Central London. In 1992, when it became the University of Westminster, she was appointed as one of its inaugural first six professors. Harker was one of the founding members of the

European Society for the History of Photography The European Society for the History of Photography (ESHPh), founded in 1978, is a society concerned with the historical events within photography from a European perspective. The ESHPh publicly hosts symposia, publishes journals, and distribute ...

, its Vice President 1978–82, and President 1986–2001. She was editor (1990-1993) of the society's printed journal, ''PhotoResearcher'', published since 1990.

Publications

* * * * * * * Harker, Margaret F. ''Henry Peach Robinson: The Grammar of Art''. In *

Collections

*Margaret Harker collection in the

Archive *Photographs attributed to Margaret Harker are held in the Conway Library of art and architecture at The Courtauld.

Personal life

On 20 December 1972, Harker married fellow photographer Richard Farrand (1916–1982).

Death

Harker died on 16 February 2013, of heart failure, after having suffered from dementia, at The Anchorage Care Home in Pulborough, and was buried in the churchyard of St Bartholomew's Church, Egdean.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harker, Margaret Florence 1920 births 2013 deaths Photographers from Lancashire British historians Historians of photography British architectural photographers Photography academics People from Southport Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic