The ICP's shop, café, and museum will be closing early at 5 PM on Saturday, July 12, for a private event. Last admission to the galleries will be at 4:30 PM. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Registration for fall courses and workshops is now open. Register by July 15 with the code 'FALL15' for 15% off course tuition.

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William Saunders

Born in Britain in 1832, Saunders moved to China in the 1850s and opened a photography studio in Shanghai in 1862. One of the first photographers in the city, Saunders focused primarily on portraiture but also photographed street life, local customs, current events, scenic views, and even executions. His photographs, intended for tourists and Westernes, were often based on compositions of earlier gouaches made for export. He was one of the main commercial photographers in China in the nineteenth-century. A series of fifty prints—Portfolio of Sketches of Chinese Life and Character—was published in 1871. This portfolio, in addition to his photographic contributions to Illustrated London News and other publications, disseminated information about life in China to Westerners. Saunders died in 1892.

Artist
1832 - 1892
British