Item PR027253 - Portrait of Rankine Dawson

Walery was a series of photography studios run by Count Stanislaw Julian Ostrotog (1836-1890) and his son, Stanislaw Julian Ignacy Ostrorog (1863-1929). Born into Polish nobility, Ostroróg the father migrated to London in approximately 1856, and then Paris in 1857, after serving in the Ottoman army. He opened photography studios in Marseilles and Paris, and later one in Nice in 1879. He sold these in approximately 1884 to open a studio in London. The studios specialized in portraiture, especially of the upper classes, and the studio's customers included Queen Victoria. Upon his death in 1890, Ostroróg's son took over the business, having learned photography from his father. He eventually partnered with theatrical photographer Alfred Ellis (1854–1930) as "Ellis and Walery." In 1900, Ostroróg moved to Paris and opened a studio there, specializing in portraits and cabinet cards of theatre and cabaret stars.He died in 1929.