User:Animalparty/Gabriel Harrison

Gabriel Harrison (March 25, 1818 – December 15, 1902) was an American photographer, actor, playwright, painter, and writer active in New York City. He made his theatrical debut in 1838 as the title character in Shakespeare's Othello opposite Lester Wallack. Harrison began his photography career in the gallery of John Plumbe around 1844, and worked for Martin M. Lawrence from 1847 to 1851. He moved to Brooklyn in 1851, opened his own gallery in in Brooklyn in 1852, and remained in photography until the early 1860s. His notable photographs include a daguerreotype of Walt Whitman that was engraved in the title page of Leaves of Grass, and California News, a daguerreotype noted for its staged narrative rather than being a simple portrait. His written works include a dramatization of Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter and biographies of actors John Howard Payne and Edwin Forrest. He supported free art schools in connection with the Brooklyn Academy of Design, of which he was a founder, and was also a portrait and landscape painter. He died in Brooklyn at age 84, and his children include daughters Viola and Beatrice and son George Washington Harrison.

Early life and family
Gabriel Harrison was born on March 25, 1818, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Charles P. Harrison (1738 – c. 1850), an English-born banknote engraver, and Elizabeth (Porter) Harrison. Harrison's great grandfather was John Harrison, known for inventing the marine chronometer. Harrison came to New York with his family at age six. Gabriel's siblings, included Lucretia Harrison, a singer and organist, and Lafayette Harrison, who built New York's Irving Hall. At age eleven, Harrison joined his father in printing, and around 13 he received lessons in reading and elocution from an elderly Aaron Burr, a neighbor, and was later said to be the last living person to have known Burr in life.

Theatrical career
One of Harrison's early roles was that of Julian St. Pierre in James Sheridan Knowles' play The Wife. In 1838 he made his debut in 1838 as the title character in Shakespeare's Othello opposite Lester Wallack as Iago. In 1845 Harrison joined the Park Theatre in Manhattan, appeared in supporting roles with Charles Kean during his Shakespearean revivals. Harrison moved to Brooklyn in 1848, (some sources say 1851), and in 1851 founded the Brooklyn Dramatic Society. He briefly managed a theatre company in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1859 he became manager of the Adelphi Theatre in Troy, New York, and in 1863 opened the Park Theatre, Brooklyn, which he managed for some time, and reprised his role as St. Pierre.

In 1867 he was elected to the Brooklyn Academy of Design, and as the institution's correspond secretary worked to support free art classes

Harrison wrote several plays and adaptations. In 1867 he published Melanthia, a tragedy written at the request of actress Matilda Heron, who produced and starred in the production at the Olympic Theatre in St. Louis. as she was looking for a matronly. including a dramatization of Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter, (1878) in which Harrison acted along with his daughter Viola. Other plays included Dartmore, The Thirteenth Chime; and Magna.

Photography
Harrison entered photography in 1844 Harrison began his photography career in the gallery of John Plumbe around 1844, and worked for Martin M. Lawrence from 1847 to 1851.

He moved to Brooklyn in 1851, opened his own gallery in in Brooklyn in 1852, and remained in photography until the early 1860s. His notable photographs include a daguerreotype of Walt Whitman that was engraved in the title page of Leaves of Grass, and California News, a daguerreotype noted for its staged narrative rather than being a simple portrait.

Politics In 1848

Personal life
Harrison married Sarah Dunn Stephenson around 1837. His children include daughters Viola and Beatrice and sons George Washington and Gabriel Varella Harrison; his son Gabriel also achieved notice as a New York portrait painter. Harrison's wife died April 5, 1901, aged 83, and Harrison himself died December 15, 1902, at the age of 84, survived by his four children.

Works
Plays: Books:
 * The Author (c. 1836)
 * Melanthia (1867)
 * The Scarlet Letter (1876)
 * The Life and Writings of John Howard Payne (1875)
 * A History of the Progress of the Drama, Music and the Fine Arts in the City of Brooklyn (1884)
 * Edwin Forrest: The Actor and the Man (1889)