Thomas Coffin Doane (1814-1896) was a Canadian photographer. His work is held in the collections of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, the

Royal BC Museum The Royal British Columbia Museum (or Royal BC Museum), founded in 1886, is a history museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The "Royal" title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by Prince Philip in 1987, to coincide with a r ...

, the

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum, formerly known as the McCord Museum of Canadian History, is a public research and teaching museum. The Museum’s Archives, Documentary Art, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, Indigenous Cultures, Material Culture and Photogr ...

, the

Library and Archives of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the Government of Canada, federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and national library, library is the ...

, among others.

Early life

Doane was born in 1814 in Barrington, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Work

In 1832 Doane began working as a portrait painter. In 1842 he went to

Halifax, Canada Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the Halifax CMA was 530,167, with 348,634 ...

to learn the daguerreotype process from William Valentine. In 1843, Doane and Valentine travelled to set up a

daguerrotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, t ...

photography business at the Golden Inn at St. Johns in Newfoundland under the name of Valentine & Doane. By 1846, he had established a clientele including subjects such as Jeffrey Howe,

John Sartain John Sartain (October 24, 1808 – October 25, 1897) was an English-born American artist who pioneered mezzotint engraving in the United States. Biography John Sartain was born in London, England. He learned line engraving, and produced several o ...

, and

Lord Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, ( ; 20 July 176614 November 1841), often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures ...

, Louis Joseph Papineau, among others. In 1865 he was no longer making photographs. Following his practice with Valentine, Doane travelled to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

before setting up a studio in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Personal life

In 1866 Doane moved to New York. He and his wife had a daughter, Kathleen Maud Doane, who married the American artist

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

Gallery

File:Louis-Joseph Papineau.jpg, Louis-Joseph Papineau, c. 1852 File:The Earl and Countess of Elgin, Lady Alice Lambton and Lord Mark Kerr.jpg, Earl and Countess of Elgin, Lady Lambton, Lord Kerr, 1848 File:Saint-Jean Baptiste 1855 color.jpg, Saint-Jean Baptiste 1855 File:Molson family brewery after the fire of 1858.jpg, Molson family brewery after the fire of 1858 File:Advertisement for Thomas Coffin Doane studio.jpg, Advertisement for Thomas Coffin Doane studio in Montreal, 1865

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doane, Thomas Coffin 19th-century Canadian photographers 1814 births 1896 deaths Canadian portrait painters 19th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 19th-century Canadian male artists