When You Own a Strauss Peyton,

You Own a Piece of Kansas City History.

From the portrait collection at Jackson County Historical Society, a sitting card lists the Marx Brothers - 4 of them - as the subjects of a December 16th, 1921 portrait session.

One of the many celebrities of the early 1900's to be photographed by Strauss Peyton, Charlie Chaplin had several portraits made.

A page from a 1914 portrait sitting book with local Kansas City residents and visitors to the city having portraits made.

Now one of the oldest portrait photography studios in the country, and the oldest in continous operation, Strauss-Peyton was established in 1908 by Benjamin R Strauss and Homer K. Peyton. Seen as an innovative enterprise, it was a force to be reckoned with in the world of celebrity portraiture. Notable names of the era include Anna Pavlova, Douglas MacArthur, Fred Astaire, the Marx Brothers, Mary Pickford, Al Jolson, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and Kansas City's own Jean Harlow.

Benjamin Strauss had been trained in portraiture by his brother, Julius Caesar Strauss in St. Louis, and in 1900 decided to begin his own business journey by moving to Kansas City and opened Strauss Studio around the turn of the century. 

Homer Peyton was an extremely talented assistant and artist who excelled at manipulating images.  He would create one of a kind art pieces by adding to the negatives with pencil or crayon.   In 1908, the studio name was changed to Strauss-Peyton and Peyton became a partner.

Strauss-Peyton took advantage of KC’s theatrical life with its multitude of visiting artists and dignitaries.  This lead to the opening of another studio in the lobby of the Muehlebach Hotel. Strauss-Peyton likewise became sought after for portraits of children, brides, families, businessmen and politicians, often having their portraits published in the society pages of the Independent Magazine.  

The exclusive Country Club Plaza became home to Strauss Peyton in 1929. The studio has maintained the brand name and exclusive clientele to the current day. However, in late 1969 to early 1970, a reorganization of the studio left the very large collection of historical glass plates and negatives vulnerable to abandonment. Strauss Peyton wisely donated these glass plates and negatives from over 55,000 sittings to the Jackson County Historical Society (JCHS).

This donation proved fortunate indeed since the 1977 devastating flood of the Country Club Plaza totally destroyed the Strauss Peyton Studio. The studio had over 5 feet of water on the main floor and the basement was totally under water.  Mark Braswell bought the Strauss Peyton Studio in 1977, just four months before the flood.  Braswell became the fifth owner of the studio and had to completely rebuild in the same year. 

Braswell’s youth and leadership brought new life into the revered Kansas City institution.  He and his wife Joan became involved in the Kansas City community.  In one of Mark’s favorite projects, he donated his time and talents to create portraits of many of the Kansas City Symphony musicians.  A portrait exhibit was created from these portraits and displayed in the Lyric Theatre for a number of years.  It then became a traveling exhibit displayed around the city. The images were also used in a collaboration with the Symphony League to create a cookbook as a fundraiser for the Symphony. 

For Children’s Mercy Hospital, Mark created a portrait exhibit of children who were under the special care of the different specialties at the hospital.   Then from the exhibition portraits, a calendar was created and sold that raised a significant amount of money for the hospital.

During his career, Braswell earned a Master’s degree in portrait photography.  He won many state, national and international awards for his portraiture.  He had the honor of creating a portrait of Margaret Thatcher, photographing Ronald Reagan’s inaugural, holding workshops for the Professional Photographers of America, working on joint projects with Christie’s in London, teaching seminars in the south of France and was a charter member of an exclusive group of photographers from around the world known as XXV, because the membership is limited to 25 members.

Braswell introduced a number of innovations to the studio.  He was the first portrait photographer in the area to enter the digital age and give up the nearly 100 year old standard of photographic film.  While the studio was already putting photographic portraits on canvas when he purchased Strauss Peyton, he was the first to begin printing the portraits directly onto the canvas with inks.  He also introduced a painted canvas portrait and a watercolor portrait.

In 2000, Mark moved from the Country Club Plaza to Overland Park, Kansas. He has enjoyed a fifty-year career of photographic excellence, more than forty of those years keeping alive the tradition of photographing the notable names of Kansas City, appearing regularly in local publications and doing what he loves best, making memories that last for Kansas City’s families and children. 

In 2018, Mark began the journey towards retirement and passed Strauss Peyton ownership to his son Jonathan and Jonathan’s wife, Kaela.  Jonathan grew up at Strauss Peyton, working first as his dad’s photography assistant, then as a portrait printer and portrait photographer.  Kaela also has a background in photography, having opened her own studio in the Seattle area before meeting Jonathan and relocating to Kansas City. They are planning for a future with continued innovation, projects and leadership in the field of portraiture.