Mary Ethel Muir Donaldson as born in England in 1876. As a young woman she sought out quiet and remote places to study natural history and became particularly attracted to the western Highlands and Islands of Scotland. As an author, MEMD initially became interested in photography as a means to illustrate her books, but she soon became passionate about it. She studied composition and travelled extensively through the western and northern Highlands, capturing images of historic or archaeological places that, even today would be difficult to reach with modern modes of transport.
MEM Donaldson also studied chemistry and optics, allowing her to process her own glass negatives, prints and enlargements. She settled in Ardnamurchan in 1927, taking up residence in her newly built home, Sanna Bheag, which incorporated a dark-room and workshop. Here she could develop her own prints, modify and improve her equipment and experiment with processes. Sadly, the house was destroyed by fire in 1947.
After her death in 1958, Donaldson’s biographer, John Telfer Dunbar, was offered a choice of glass negatives from her collection. He selected 123 in total, taking mostly the portraiture subjects. These were later donated to National Museums Scotland. The rest of the collection, comprising 1094 glass negatives and mainly featuring landscapes, were bequeathed by MEM to Inverness Museum. These landscape and topographical images, from all over the western and northern Highlands and Islands, make a fascinating photographic archive of the history, heritage and culture of these rural areas.
A biography, Herself: The Life and Photographs of MEM Donaldson by John Telfer Dunbar, was published in 1979.
Some of the MEM Donaldson Collection can be viewed on the Am Baile website. A full set of photographic prints, made from the original negatives, are available to view by appointment at Inverness Museum - email us for details.
