In 1832 Doane began working as a portrait painter.[6] In 1842 he went to
Halifax, Canada to learn the daguerreotype process from
William Valentine.[6] In 1843, Doane and Valentine travelled to set up a
daguerrotype photography business at the Golden Inn at St. Johns in Newfoundland under the name of Valentine & Doane.[7][8] By 1846, he had established a clientele including subjects such as Jeffrey Howe,
John Sartain, and
Lord Elgin,
Louis Joseph Papineau, among others. In 1865 he was no longer making photographs.[6]
Following his practice with Valentine, Doane travelled to the
West Indies before setting up a studio in
Montreal.[6]
Personal life
In 1866 Doane moved to New York. He and his wife had a daughter, Kathleen Maud Doane, who married the American artist
Childe Hassam.[5][6]
Gallery
Louis-Joseph Papineau, c. 1852
Earl and Countess of Elgin, Lady Lambton, Lord Kerr, 1848
Saint-Jean Baptiste 1855
Molson family brewery after the fire of 1858
Advertisement for Thomas Coffin Doane studio in Montreal, 1865