Pirie MacDonald | |
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 Portrait of Pirie MacDonald published in 1909 | |
| Born | January 27, 1867 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 1942 (aged 75) New York City, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Known for | Early and mid-20th century portraiture |
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Ian Pirie MacDonald HonFRPS[1] (January 27, 1867 – April 22, 1942) was an American portrait photographer, New York City civic leader, and peace advocate.[2] He photographed over 70,000 men in the span of his career, including international heads of state, religious leaders, and artists.[3][4]
Born in Chicago, MacDonald moved to Hudson, New York in 1883, where he worked as a photographer's apprentice prior to opening his own studio in Albany.[5] Upon gaining a reputation in portraiture, MacDonald made the decision to only photograph men, a decision that even applied to family photos, and from that point on dubbed himself "Pirie MacDonald – Photographer of Men".[3][5] His prolific body of work encompasses many well-known men of the early to mid-20th century including Spencer Trask, Woodrow Wilson, William Ralph Inge, Seán O'Casey and Antoine Lumiére,[5] all of which were taken within New York City save for Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Christian X of Denmark.[6] When asked about his most memorable portrait sittings, he listed Theodore Roosevelt as his most difficult subject.[7]
MacDonald married Emilie Van Dusen in 1890.[5] Heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America organization, he founded the Norwalk Boy Scouts[8] and maintained a camp for the scouts on his White Oak Shade estate in Norwalk, Connecticut.[9]
MacDonald had a cerebral hemorrhage at White Oak Shade on April 18, 1942, and died at a New York hospital four days later. In accordance with his wishes, all photographic negatives of his works were destroyed.[5]
