Death of photographer and picture editor Sally Fox, noted for curating visual histories of women’s lives.
On February 25, 2006, Sally Fox (née Cherniavsky), the photographer and picture editor renowned for her collections of visual images of women’s lives, died in the United States.
Her death marked the end of a career dedicated to assembling, interpreting, and sharing historical imagery that foregrounded women’s everyday experiences. Through her work with Houghton Mifflin and as an independent researcher, Fox had gathered thousands of prints, photographs, and illustrations showing women at work, at leisure, and in public life, much of which was preserved in the collections of the Schlesinger Library.
Fox’s passing came at a moment when feminist visual culture studies were gaining momentum in academia and public history. The resources she created—including her "Book of Days" series on medieval, Victorian, and sporting women—continued to serve as teaching tools, exhibition material, and inspiration for scholars seeking to represent women’s pasts more fully.
Documenting the exact date of her death is significant for women’s history because it allows archivists and historians to trace the stewardship and use of her collections, as well as to situate her legacy within the broader timeline of feminist scholarship. Her work remains an important reminder that the visual record is essential for understanding how women have lived, labored, and imagined themselves across centuries.