Castaña [Photographs by Ida Pritchett and Clara Sipprell of the estate of the late Mr. & Mrs. Alba B. Johnson]

Castaña [Photographs by Ida Pritchett and Clara Sipprell of the estate of the late Mr. & Mrs. Alba B. Johnson]

The Castaña Portfolio is held by the McLean Library of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and comprises photographs documenting the gardens and grounds of the Alba B. Johnson Estate, known as Castaña. All photographs were thought to be the work of Philadelphia photographer Ida W. Pritchett (1891-1965). However, as Library staff prepared the collection for a digitization project in 2019, it was discovered that some of photographic prints bore the signature of Clara E. Sipprell (1885-1975).

Pritchett and Sipprell visited Castaña in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, sometime between 1936 and 1945. Ida W. Pritchett photographed the focal garden views, while Clara E. Sipprell concentrated on the older woodland areas. Both women belonged to the Pictorialist school, which sought to elevate the status of photography to the more respected art realm where the images are distinguished by soft focus, tonality, and careful composition.