Born in Maryland in 1863, William Ashman (1863-1902) learned his trade from his uncle, William M. Chase. After a stint with David Bachrach’s studio, Ashman left to start his own portrait business in 1877.
The studio continued to operate under the management of Ashman’s associate, Oregon M. Dennis, after Ashman’s death in Saranac Lake, New York.
This is my favorite Ashman cabinet portrait. He has posed her so that light throws the lines of her face into relief, illuminating a middle-aged woman’s subtle, fading beauty.
William Ashman is buried in Druid Ridge Cemetery, near Pikesville, in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Photographicus Baltimorensis 