Mabel Sykes

Mabel Sykes
Mabel Sykes, from a 1923 newspaper
Born
Mabel Huxley

March 1883
Homewood, Illinois, U.S.
DiedAugust 21, 1963 (age 80)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesMabel Barsanti
OccupationPhotographer

Mabel Huxley Sykes Barsanti (March 1883 – August 21, 1963) was an American photographer based in Chicago. She was known as "Rudolph Valentino's favorite photographer". She also photographed musicians and vaudeville performers, babies, brides, landscapes, and Clarence Darrow.

Early life and education

Mabel Huxley was born in Homewood, Illinois, the daughter of Charles DeWitt Huxley and Henrietta H. Zimmer Huxley.[1][2]

Career

Sykes learned the photography business from her first husband, and had her own studio in Chicago's Loop after their divorce in 1914. She opened a second studio on Chicago's Northside in 1921.[3] She photographed performers including Rudolph Valentino and Sibyl Sammis-MacDermid. She also photographed portraits for professionals including lawyer Clarence Darrow[4] and oral surgeon Thomas Lewis Gilmer.[5] Landscape photos by Sykes appeared in a Sierra Club publication.[6] She also took society portraits[7][8][9] and school yearbook photos.[10][11][12] She retired from the photography business in 1931.[13]

Sykes was known as "Rudolph Valentino's favorite photographer".[14]

Personal life

Huxley married photographer Melvin H. Sykes in 1902; they divorced in 1914.[15] She married salesman Alfred J. Barsanti, in 1917; they divorced in 1929.[16][17] She died in 1963, at the age of 80, in Chicago.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Charles De Witt Huxley (death notice)". Chicago Tribune. 1930-12-13. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Henrietta Huxley (death notice)". Chicago Tribune. 1953-05-10. p. 45. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Studio de Luxe; Loop Artist Buys Old Time North Side Mansion". Chicago Tribune. 1921-02-20. p. 109. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Hennessey, LeRoy. Bench and bar of Illinois, 1920. University of California Libraries. Chicago : Bench & Bar Pub. Co. pp. 57, 101, 103, 109 (Darrow), 188, 192, 205, 324.
  5. ^ Biographical Publishing Corporation; Chicago Medical Society (1922). History of medicine and surgery and physicians and surgeons of Chicago. Chicago, Ill.: The Biographical publishing corporation. p. 530. Archived from the original on 2025-05-14. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Hathi Trust.
  6. ^ "Islands in Rae Lake, 1910". Sierra Club Bulletin. 8 (1): 16–17. January 1911 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "This is Golden Wedding Day for South Side Couple, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Andrews". Chicago Tribune. 1921-07-05. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Council Officers". Chicago Tribune. 1929-09-15. p. 46. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Honor Guest: Miss Florence Hardin". The Chicago Defender. 1930-05-17. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Harvard School, Chicago (1930). Review (yearbook). Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. p. 199 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ Central YMCA High School (1926). 1926 Central YMCA High School Yearbook. p. 114.
  12. ^ Chicago Normal College (1910). Emblem. Chicago State University Library. Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Normal College. p. 133.
  13. ^ "Then and Now". Chicago Tribune. 1923-12-30. p. 45. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Mary Godley Royce". Delta County Historical Society. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  15. ^ "Mrs. Sykes to Gain Divorce". The Inter Ocean. 1914-04-11. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Mabel Sykes Sues to Divorce Second Husband". Chicago Tribune. 1928-12-20. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Diamond Girl Will Divorce Second Mate". Morristown Gazette Mail. 1929-02-19. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Miss Mabel Sykes". Chicago Tribune. 1963-08-23. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-09-30 – via Newspapers.com.
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