Alice Mills (photographer)
Alice Mills (1870–1929) was an influential professional photographer from Australia, active from 1900 to 1929. She established her name among the top photographers in Melbourne after seven years of work. After her death she stayed within that group for thirty more years. Life Alice Mills was born in 1870 in Ballarat into a lower-middle-class family, briefly moving to New Zealand and back with her family when she was still a young girl. Growing up she was trained in the Melbourne studios of Henry Johnstone and Miss O'Shaughnessy. She married Tom Humphreys and established her life in the city of Melbourne, Australia. She didn't have any children. Photography Alice began her photography career in 1900 with her husband Tom Humphreys, setting up at some stage between 1900 and 1907 her own studio in her name on Collins Street. At this stage, though, it appears that her husband became more involved in painting rather than photography. Alice Mills was a pioneer with regards to women's photography and by 1913 there were five more women that established themselves within her studio building. In 1914 the war brought quite a lot more work in the photography business, especially portrait studio work. She consequently took