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he Vandyk studio was responsible for hundreds of important Victorian and Edwardian photographic portraits, including portraits of members of British and other royal families (especially some of the Indian princes). The National Portrait Gallery, London, has 659 of the studio's works. Carl Vandyk (1851-1931), the founder, was the son of Jewish parents in Germany — his father was Dutch, and his mother Portuguese. By 1872 he had emigrated to England, where he became a naturalised British citizen, and by 1882 he had a studio in London, in Gloucester Road. He also ran several successful hotels. Having trained with him earlier, and spent several years honing his skills in Paris, his eldest son, Herbert (1879-1943), joined him in the studio in 1900 and took over from him when he retired. Herbert expanded the studio, now at Buckingham Palace Road, to the extent that by 1916 he is known to have had a staff of fifty. Much later (in 1964) it was amalgamated with the photography studio of Alexander Bassano, becoming Bassano and Vandyk. A year later, Elliott and Fry became part of the consortium. — Jacqueline Banerjee

Bibliography

Harris, Russell. "Vandyk, Carl (1851–1931), photographer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Web. 17 June 2022.

Vandyk (active 1881-1947), Photographer. National Portrait Gallery, London. Web. 17 June 2022.


Created 17 June 2022