20C - American Miniature Portraits

Wiltschek and unknown, portraits of Lillian Russell

2011-08-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

These two miniatures were acquired together and are both believed to be portraits of the American actress Lillian Russell (1861-1922).

She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.

Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago. Her parents separated when she was eighteen, and she moved to New York with her mother. She quickly began to perform professionally, singing for Tony Pastor and playing roles in comic opera, including Gilbert and Sullivan works. She married composer Edward Solomon in 1884 and created roles in several of his operas in London, but in 1886 he was arrested for bigamy. Russell was married four times, but her longest relationship was with Diamond Jim Brady, who supported her extravagant lifestyle for four decades.

In 1885, Russell returned to New York and continued to star in operetta and musical theatre. For many years, she was the foremost singer of operettas in America, performing continuously through the end of the nineteenth century. In 1899, she joined the Weber and Fields's Music Hall, where she starred for five years. After 1904, she began to have vocal difficulties and switched to dramatic roles. She later returned to musical roles in vaudeville, however, finally retiring from performing around 1919. In later years, Russell wrote a newspaper column, advocated women's suffrage and was a popular lecturer.

Although the miniatures have no identifying inscription, a previous owner had purchased them as being of Lillian Russell. There are various known photographic portraits which are similar and thus support the identification. They include the examples showing here.

The miniature with the older sitter is less certainly of Lillian Russell, but their shared provenance, the apparent date of painting, a similar curl in the middle of her forehead, and the predilection towards the wearing of pearls all support an identification as Lillian Russell.

One of the two artists is unknown, but the other portrait is signed C S Wiltschek, for Charles Sigfried Wiltschek. He was an art dealer in New York, but he also painted many miniatures, usually over a faint photographic base, as was common in early 20C America. Other examples in this collection are:

Some collectors reject miniature portraits with photographic bases, but they are an important part of art history, bridging purely painted portraits and purely photographic portraits.

Hence, I believe miniatures painted over a photographic base are under-rated in terms of collectability, as they are part of the history of both branches. Early photographs of known sitters are sought after, even where there are multiple examples. Thus, painted portraits over a photographic base are even rarer. 1426, 1427

Nicolet, Frank Lucien - portrait of Rodin with The Thinker

2008-05-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Update - This miniature portrait has been included only in the European section of the collection. However, as recent research has shown that that Frank Nicolet mainly worked in Canada, the entry is now also being shown in the American 20C section of the collection.

Although somewhat larger than most miniature portraits at 243mm x 165mm, this is a stunning miniature portrait by Frank Lucien Nicolet (1889->1944) of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) standing by his most famous sculpture. It shows Rodin around 1905.

The bronze sculpture of Rodin shown here is by the British sculptor John Tweed (1869-1933), who was a good friend of Rodin.

It has been dated to around 1902 and is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, see www.vam.ac.uk/.../rodin/other_rodin/index.html

There is a miniature portrait of John Tweed in this collection which is painted by John Stewart Clark. Whenever Rodin visited London, he stayed with John Tweed.

An early painting of Rodin is this 1881 portrait by Francois Flemang (1856-1923).

No doubt there are other paintings of Rodin, but the miniature portrait, being nearly contemporary with Rodin, must be rare as a painted portrait.

There are many images of Rodin's sculptures available on the Internet, but not many photographs of Rodin himself.

Those available do seem to support the view that the miniature of Rodin represents him around 1905.

One example of a photograph is this 1905 portrait by Walter Henry Barnett which is helpful in dating the miniature, www.iatwm.com/200702/RodinZurich/index.html

The head of Rodin in the miniature portrait is about the same size as would appear in a normal sized miniature portrait.

No direct source for the miniature has been found, although a biography of Rodin includes several photographs which seem to have been taken around the same time, as he is wearing the same dust coat. Contact has been made with the biographer and also the Rodin Museum, but neither of them had seen the image previously.

As indicated below, it is even faintly possible that Nicolet painted the portrait from life, although Nicolet would have been only aged about 16 at the time the portrait relates to.

It is more likely that Nicolet painted the miniature of Rodin as an illustration for a magazine article, perhaps around the time of Rodin's death, but to date no such magazine article has been located.

He was in Canada at some stage as a kind visitor has advised that Nicolet used to go fishing with his father in Canada and in addition, painted a portrait of him.

While there he painted several images which were used for Victory Bond war posters. They included this one titled "Doing my bit- Four Years".

Other Canadian references to F L Nicolet are found in Canada as the painter of more World War I Victory Bonds posters such as "Be yours to hold it high" which is part of the Ontario Archives Collection at Canadian Posters from the First World War - Victory Bonds

Another poster by him is this 1918 poster of a soldier in poppy fields."If ye break faith, we shall not sleep".

Both the latter two posters were inspired by the words in the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McRae, which was first published anonymously in the 8 December 1915 edition of Punch Magazine, as per the copy here below, where the words used on the posters can be seen.

It is owned by The Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, see Parks Canada - Teachers' Corner - The Price We Paid for Nationhood ...

This second poster was used as part of a campaign to raise $150 million, but it was so successful it raised $400 million. As a result Frank Nicolet was awarded a prize by the Canadian Government, see Amanda French SCMLA 2005 Poetic Propaganda and the Provincial ...

An example of the poster which is 61cm x 89 cm, was sold at auction on 19 April 2008 for a hammer price of $300.

There were a number of poems written in reply to Flanders Fields and some of them can be read at Reply-poems to In Flanders Fields

It has been difficult to find further many definite references to Nicolet the person, as opposed to the artist, but it seems likely that he is the Frank Nicolet listed in the 1930 USA census as lodging in White Plains, Westchester, NY. He described himself as an artist who had arrived in America in 1912, having been born in England in 1889 of French and English parents.

There is also a USA draft registration record of June 1917 completed by Frank L Nicolet born 21 October 1889 at Brighton, Sussex, England, who described himself an artist and at that time was living in New York. However, most references say he was born in Sussex England in 1887 and immigrated to Canada at an early age.

After the end of World War Nicolet continued to create posters, including this 1919 one about reconstruction which is part of the Elizabeth Coenan Collection, Provincial Museum of Alberta.

Although no record of him has been found in British census records, it may be that he was the son of Theophile Nicolet (1849-?) of St Etienne, France and Clara Clements (1860-?) his wife who was born on the Ganges, in India. They were married in JFM 1880 and are recorded in the 1891 census record, where Theophile Nicolet was a teacher of languages who lived in Brighton, Sussex, England with five children.

There are a couple of art records for watercolour paintings by a Theophile Nicolet dated 1913 and 1915, one titled "Venise" and the other "Bord de rivière" thus it seems possible that the Nicolet family were in France or Italy at some point after the 1891 British census.

Given this it is quite possible Frank Nicolet did meet Rodin in France.

There are references to Nicolet also making posters for World War II, see Liste alphabétique des titres : À nous de jouer : guide pratique ... 251

Unknown - portrait of United States Army officer

2007-11-21T23:27:00.000-08:00

This miniature portrait is unsigned and is painted on porcelain. It has been included in the American 20C Gallery on stylistic grounds, as it was painted around 1900, although it will have been based on a photograph taken some 20 years earlier.

As it is painted on porcelain, it was most probably painted in Germany, being copied there from a photograph sent from America. American artists did not paint on porcelain, although they did sometimes paint on milk glass.

Although the sitter is unknown, it is clear he was of a Major or Colonel's rank in the United States Army. He is wearing the 1872/1879 pattern Senior Officer's frock coat which only differed in the cuffs from 1872 to 1879. The Senior Officer's coat had 18 buttons in a double row and was worn by Majors and Colonels. For a comprehensive article about the 1872 uniform, see 1872 officer's dress coat: A photo survey, The Military Images ... -

The complete rows are not visible in the image, but the Senior Officer's coat can be distinguished from the Junior Officer's frock coat which had 14 buttons and were in consequence, more widely spaced.

On his shoulders can be seen the Shoulder Knot, also called the Russian Knot. This was only used on the Frock Coat and was authorised for all ranks, except generals. The Shoulder Knot came in several color combinations and showed the branch of the army and the wearer's rank. Shoulder Knots were used in the Full Dress Version while Shoulder Boards were used in the "Undress" version.

It is interesting to note that his collar is turned down and his shirt can be seen, whereas the modern versions of 19C uniforms illustrated here show the collar upright. The significance of this not known for sure, but a knowledgeable source advises that in the 19C, officer's uniforms were private purchase, so there were variations. The army wasn't as strict with minor points of the uniform as they are today. This collar probably was such a variation. It may have been made to wear as either a stand-up or lay-down collar.

Modern made examples of the Senior Officers' Frock Coat and the Shoulder Knot are shown here and are available for purchase at US M1872 junior & senior officer's frockcoat (Indian Wars), 19th ...

The sitter in this portrait is unknown. 1289

Underwood, Ethel B - portrait of a lady with a dog

2007-10-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed at the lower right "E B Underwood 1904" for Ethel B Underwood who was born in Massachusetts in June 1874. It is very unusual in that the sitter has a dog on her knee. It is the only miniature in the collection to show a pet, apart perhaps from a family group where one of the children is holding a butterfly on a string, although it is conceded it may be stretching things a little to call a butterfly a pet.

There were several people named Ethel Underwood and so it has been a little difficult to determine which one is correct. However, on balance, Ethel is believed to have been the youngest of four children of George L Underwood (1832-c1900), a physician of Boston, MA and Katherine L Luyster (Kate), (May 1839-Feb 11 1911) of New York, who were married 14 Apr 1859 in New York.

Katherine was the daughter of the prosperous Massachusetts merchant, Abraham R Luyster, also of Westfield, Richmond, NY who in the 1850 census disclosed assets of $45,000. In the 1870 census, George and Kate Underwood lived in Ward 10, Boston, disclosed assets of $15,000 and had one servant.

Ethel's brothers were George R Underwood (1863-?) a Boston purchasing agent, Herbert Thaxter Underwood (1873-?) a Boston architect, and Western Underwood (1867-?) a Los Angeles banker.

Thaxter Underwood was involved in the design of the first outdoor swimming pool built in America, in Belmont, MA and opened Jun 17, 1912. It was named the Underwood Pool for his uncle, see Town of Belmont, MA - History of the Underwood Pool He also designed the Jacobethan Revival Rectory at 676 Washington Street, Brighton which was constructed in 1913 by W.J. Larsfield of 20 Leamington Road, Brighton, from designs provided by H. Thaxter Underwood of 46 Cornhill, Boston.

In the 1900 census, and recorded as E B Underwood, Ethel lived in rented premises with her widowed mother in Manhattan, NY and described her occupation as miniature artist.

She is recorded as having exhibited at the Third Annual Exhibition of the American Society of Miniature Painters, see NY Times Feb 2, 1902 PAINTERS OF MINIATURES.; Third Annual of the American Society at ...

The exhibition included eleven miniatures by Laura Coombs Hill and four by William Jacob Baer.

Ethel seems not to have married as in the 1920 census she appears to be living in Middletown, Orange NY and gives no occupation, although she had two lodgers living with her.

No other examples of her work have been seen to date. However, she must have painted quite a number and was very competent. The painting of the dog here is very well done, as are the hands and the jewellery.

The breed is now called a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, although that name was not in use at the time the miniature was painted. Then it was a King Charles Spaniel, with the breed Cavalier King Charles being developed in the 1920's.

The breed has often been associated with Royalty and King Charles II went so far as to issue a decree that the King Charles Spaniel could not be forbidden entrance to any public place, including the Houses of Parliament. Such spaniels can be seen in many paintings of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. These early spaniels had longer, pointier snouts and thinner-boned limbs than today's.

For much about the breed see Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The sitter is unknown. 1277

Deane, Lillian Reubena - portrait of Miliza Korjus

2007-10-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

This is a large miniature portrait at 150 mm by 115 mm. It is vertically signed at the lower right "L Reubena Deane" for Lillian Reubena Deane (24 Sep 1880-24 Jun 1972) who was born and worked in Chicago and also worked in Los Angeles.

On the reverse of the frame there is an inscription "Portrait on ivory of "Meliza Korjus", "The Great Waltz" (music by Johann Strauss) by Lillian Reubena Deane July 1945."

Miliza Korjus (aka Meliza Korjus) (1912-1980) was an opera singer whose operatic appearances and recordings quickly propelled her to the forefront of European singers and earned her the nickname "The Berlin Nightingale".

She decided to leave Estonia in 1933 to pursue a career as an opera singer in Western Europe and then in Hollywood. Seven years later, at the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Estonia. Mass deportations and arrests followed the communist takeover, and the Korjus family never returned. Estonia regained its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The family eventually settled permanently in the United States, where Miliza Korjus got her big break in Hollywood in 1938, playing a leading role in the critically acclaimed film "The Great Waltz," about the life of composer Johann Strauss. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.

Korjus's film career was brought to an end by a bad automobile accident in 1940, when she was hospitalized for nearly a year, but she toured as a singer, then stayed in Mexico during World War II and also made a number of records. She retired from the concert stage in 1952.

Her concert at Carnegie Hall in 1944, after an absence of some ten years from the opera stage, was welcomed. Time magazine acknowledged she was a little rusty, but commented "Miliza Korjus is not quite as good as her recordings, but she is one of the best coloraturas U.S. concert goers have heard in a decade". See The Marvelous Miliza - TIME At the time she had purchased as her home, the Spanish-style villa in Hollywood that Rudolph Valentino built just before his death. For more about her, see Miliza Korjus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In 1998, six decades after she left Estonia with her family, Meliza's daughter, American-Estonian Melissa Wells then aged 64, returned to the land of her birth to serve as U.S. ambassador. Melissa Wells handed her credentials over to Estonian President Lennart Meri on November 3, 1998. At the time she said "To come back to the place where I was born, with Estonia as a free and independent country and after its occupation and its tragic history...it is a dream come true, it’s a miracle." Wells also served as U.S. ambassador to Zaire, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde.

There are two other miniatures by Deane in this collection. Firstly, the self portrait shown here which is dated 1900. Secondly, the miniature of Isobella Mendez in a very colorful dress, which is dated 1929.

Lillian Deane had a long career, as these examples of her technique cover a period of 45 years, being painted in 1900, 1929, and 1945. Over such a long period she must have painted many miniatures, but no other examples are currently known.

The 1900 self portrait was painted when she was only 20 years old. It shows that she was a competent painter of faces, but already had an interest in the clothing of her subjects, as she has painted her dress in some detail.

The 1929 and 1945 miniatures show that her fascination with color and costume became more important to her than capturing a photographic likeness of her subject. The 1929 painting of the dress is a masterpiece of color and detail. The 1945 miniature also concentrates on conveying a rainbow of pastel colours.

Being able to show these miniatures together as a tribute to Lillian Reubena Deane is a pleasure and also an opportunity to show that some miniaturists moved beyond the concept of photographic likeness, to capture color in an impressionist manner.

One could say of Deane's work, that she used the face of the sitter only as a prop to support her painting of the costume, whereas most miniature painters used costume as a prop to support their paintings of a sitter's face. 1281

Newell, Claude Potter - portrait of lady and daughters

2007-08-28T14:05:00.001-07:00

This portrait has been acquired for the collection, although many collectors would not regard it as miniature portrait due to its size. However, it is painted using miniaturist techniques and thus provides a most unusual and large example of a miniature painter's skill.

Given the size and the amount of detail, it must have been a very expensive portrait when it was painted.

It is signed "C P Newell 1924" for Claude Potter Newell (1870->1930). He does not feature in the reference books, but was a highly regarded artist who painted wedding anniversary miniature portraits of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Two miniatures by C P Newell do appear in this collection. They are dated 1916 and 1918. See Newell, Claude Potter - portrait of a 20C lady and Newell, Claude Potter - portrait of a child

The size is 350 mm x 270 mm, thus it is really too large to be described as a miniature. It is painted on a hard thin white substance which is glued to card, so the reverse of the ground cannot be inspected.

It is too large to be a single sheet of ivory and no joins are apparent, although the ground is of similar thickness to that used for normal ivory miniatures.

Hence it must be on a thin sheet of ivorine, a plastic product which was first produced by the Xylonite Company in 1866.

Although much larger, the frame is the same design as was used for miniature frames around 1920, with an ornate chased border and a hanger of typical American design.

The portrait is very detailed, something that is really only possible because of the ivorine ground.

The detail would be lost if it had been painted on canvas or paper.

Most large portraits are not designed for close inspection and need to be viewed from a distance to appreciate the skill of the artist.

However, this portrait can be viewed under a magnifying glass and the skill in painting the detail of the faces and dresses is then appreciated.

It is sometimes said that the evidence of a skilled artist becomes apparent when one looks at how hands are painted.

Many artists are deficient in this area, but the close up image shown here indicates that Newell was very skilled at painting hands.

The sitters are unknown. 1260

Eckardt, Otto - portrait of Jane Spottswood Keller

2007-07-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed inside "Painted by Otto E Eckardt, Dresden, 1901" and identified as "Jane Spottswood Keller aged 7 years". As with other portraits by Otto Eckardt in the collection, it is believed the portrait was painted in Germany, as a copy of a photograph sent to Germany from the United States.

Jane Spottswood Keller was born 10 Mar 1893, the daughter of David Alexander Keller and Alice Cooke who married in 1883. The family was wealthy and in the 1900 census, Jane had her own governess. She was a second cousin of of the famous blind and death author, Helen Keller (1880-1968) who wrote "The Story of My Life". Jane's mother, Alice was the daughter of Lyttleton Cooke, a lawyer and a highly respected member of the Kentucky bar, see Lawyers and Lawmakers of Kentucky, by H. Levin, editor, 1897 ...

Jane Keller married George Danforth Caldwell, a lawyer, on 5 May 1918 and they had one son, David Keller Caldwell who was born in 1928. He wrote a book about dolphins, see 0397007345: The world of the bottlenosed dolphin by David Keller ...

The miniature of Jane was purchased as a single lot containing four miniatures, all shown here. (Also shown below to assist family researchers, are two more miniatures from the same family, but that went to a different buyer.) They all came from the collection of G. Vernon Diab of Louisville, Kentucky.

One of the other miniatures in the lot, the man with grey hair and a moustache is identified on a tag as David Keller Caldwell and painted by John Ramsier (1861-1936). However, David Keller Caldwell was born in 1928 and hence the clothing does not look right for the 20C. It is signed with initials "K D A", but the full name of the artist has not been determined.

It seems more likely the miniature is of a different family member, perhaps Jane's father David Alexander Keller (27 Jul 1853 - 24 May 1926). David was a cousin of Helen Keller (1880-1968). Like Helen Keller, David Keller was obviously also a strong minded person, as in the 1900 census he described his occupation as "capitalist". However, he also appears to have been a founder of the Louisville YMCA.

By comparison, the miniature here of a bald man that does look like a photo, although unsigned is confidently attributed as painted by John Ramsier. It is of Hon James Guthrie, who was the great-grandfather of Jane's husband, George Danforth Caldwell. Guthrie had a number of political positions, including Secretary to the Treasury. For much more about this portrait, see Ramsier, John - portrait of Hon James Guthrie

The fourth miniature (possibly an over-painted photograph) of a man with both a moustache and beard is of John F Henry (22 Jun 1839-1899) a Confederate veteran who married Mary Churchill Richardson 30 Sep 1869. He has been identified as John Flournoy Henry, son of a Kentucky congressman (1827-1829) of the same name. John Flournoy Henry junior wrote a book entitled "A History of the Henry Family From its Beginning in this Country to the Present Time" which was published in 1900, just after his death.

As a Civil War soldier, he had joined Lieutenant Colonel Tom Woodward's Second Kentucky Regiment of Cavalry, attached to General Bedford Forrest's Brigade. He was actively engaged in the Tennessee campaigns, and participated in the hard-fought battles of Chickamauga, Farmington, Maryville, Resaca, as well as those of Kennesaw Mountain, Saltville, and Bentonville. He was severely wounded at Farmington, October 7, 1863, just subsequent to Chickamauga, through which desperate fight he had passed unharmed. Returning to his command, he was unexpectedly, and wholly without his solicitation, promoted, by general brigade orders, to official rank in the commissary department, but so averse was he to leaving the field of active service that he procured a reversal of the order and remained throughout the struggle a private soldier.

Henry became engaged with an extensive cotton firm of Charleston, Savannah, and Augusta in collecting, rebaling, and shipping cotton from the interior to the coast. From this he was called to a position of responsibility in a cotton bagging and baling rope manufacturing establishment in Louisville, where he took up his residence November 1, 1865. He became a member of the firm January 1, 1869, but in 1873 its factory was burned. After closing its large business in 1874, Mr. Henry formed a partnership, establishing the firm of Patterson, Henry & Co., which for more than seventeen years ranked among the first pork-packing and provision houses in its section. Early in 1892, having been chosen Second Vice-President and Trust Officer of The Louisville Trust Co., he abandoned commercial pursuits and devoted himself to the affairs of that large financial institution, of which he became the vice-president.

The sale included a number of other miniatures from the Diab collection and the pair of miniatures of two men represent a sad side effect of an auction, when a family is split up and sold as different lots.

The portraits of two men in the auction were identified as on the left Edward Sheggog, painted in March 1839 at Philadelphia by Mrs A C Staughton (Anna Claypoole Peale) and on the right Alexander Moore Keller by John Ramsier. Unfortunately they sold well above estimate to another bidder ($3220 compared to $500-$700) and thus could not remain with the portraits of Jane Keller and her other family members.

Research has identified Alexander Spottswood Moore Keller (14 Nov 1813-3 Mar 1857) as the grandfather of Jane. He married Jane Elizabeth Sheggog (1819-1865) and so it seems likely that Edward Sheggog was either Jane's great-grandfather or a great-uncle.

All the miniatures were accompanied by tags with their names on, possibly written by G Vernon Diab, but it does seem there may have been a mix up with some of the names. The younger portrait of Alexander Moore Keller does not look like the work of John Ramsier (1861-1936), who was not active at the time it was painted. However, it is possible that it is a copy by John Ramsier of a portrait by another artist. Perhaps more likely is that the wrong miniature was attributed to John Ramsier when the tags were written. 1253, 1254, 1255, 1256

Colby, Clara - portrait of Commodore Edward Preble

2007-06-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

To date, nothing has been found about Clara Colby, who appears to be a hitherto unrecorded artist. However, she was obviously a very talented artist.

The profile miniature portrait has a plaque reading "231 Commodore Preble - Clara Colby". It is signed on the lower right "Clara Colby" and on the backing paper it is inscribed "Commodore Preble - painted on ivory by Clara Colby". The significance of the number 231 is unknown, perhaps it relates to an exhibition reference number.

The frame is of solid wood with a thick, turned ivory fillet surrounding the miniature itself. This is a very expensive and unusual type of frame. A little unfortunately, it appears when Clara Colby copied the portrait from the medal, she was not aware of the correct shade of blue for his uniform, as it should have been navy blue.

The obverse and reverse of the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Commodore Edward Preble (1761-1807) of Falmouth, Maine, in 1805 for his efforts against the Barbary pirates of Tripoli, are shown here. The reverse shows the attack on Tripoli.

The medal was based upon a portrait drawn by Rembrandt Peale, a member of the famous American family of miniature painters. It was drawn as Preble passed through Philadelphia on his way home, about two weeks after the award was made public. The actual medal was given to him in 1806, not long before he died in 1807 at the age of 46.
For much more about him, see United States of America Congressional Gold Medal Recipient Edward ...

Interestingly, a miniature portrait painted by his great-granddaughter Alice Preble Tucker De Haas, was a recent addition to this collection, see De Haas, Alice Preble Tucker - portrait of a young... 1230

Korzybska, Mira Edgerly - portrait of three sisters

2007-06-13T19:04:00.001-07:00

It is hard to comprehend the large size of this miniature portrait without visual clues. It is very large for a miniature on ivory, with the maximum sight dimensions being 215 mm x 120 mm (8.5 inches by 5 inches). The image here does not do justice to its brightness and clarity.

It is signed at the lower right "EDGERLY.K.34". This stands for the American artist Mira Edgerly Korzybska (18 Jan 1879-13 Jul 1954).

Born in Illinois, Mira Edgerly spent her childhood in MI, where her father was an inventor and a director of the Michigan Central Railroad. Largely a self-taught artist, she began working with portrait photograph Arnold Genthe, reportedly studied with Frank Brangwyn in Paris, and was urged to pursue her love of painting on ivory by the artist John Singer Sargent.

At a time when most miniature portraits were the size of one's palm, Mira Edgerly specialised in using large ivory pieces. Through the world's largest ivory cutting house in London she obtained sheets of ivory cut into pieces 6 by 12 inches or more. She carefully selected ivory with translucent qualities, giving special brilliance and luminosity to colours. Sargent, on seeing her paintings, said, "Here at last is a portrait on ivory, not a miniature."

Edgerly became a sought after portraitist among the upper echelons of American and European society as well as the entertainment and literary worlds. Her work took her to and from New York, London, Paris, California Washington, Latin America, and Chicago. Many of Edgerly's portraits are catalogued at Columbia University, including those of Elsie de Wolfe, Doris Duke, and Aileen Vanderbilt. However, very few are available to view.

There is a reference to her (as Myra Edgerly) in "The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas" (1933). "Mildred Aldrich once brought a very extraordinary person Myra Edgerly. I
remembered very well that when I was quite young and went to a fancy-dress ball, a Mardi Gras ball in San Francisco, I saw a very tall and very beautiful and very brilliant woman there. This was Myra Edgerly young. Genthe, the well known photographer did endless photographs of her, mostly with a cat. She had come to London as a miniaturist and she had had one of those phenomenal successes that Americans do have in Europe. She had miniatured everybody, and the royal family, and she had
maintained her earnest gay careless outspoken San Francisco way through it all. She now came to Paris to study a little. She met Mildred Aldrich and became very devoted to her. Indeed it was Myra who in nineteen thirteen, when Mildred's earning capacity was rapidly dwindling secured an annuity for her and made it possible for Mildred to retire to the Hilltop on the Marne."

And "Myra Edgerly was very earnestly anxious that Gertrude Stein's work should be more widely known. When Mildred told her about all those unpublished manuscripts Myra said something must be done. And of course something was done. She knew John Lane slightly and she said Gertrude Stein and I must go to London. But first Myra must write letters and then I must write letters to everybody for Gertrude Stein. She told me the formula I must employ. I remember it began, Miss Gertrude Stein as you may or may not know, is, and then you went on and said everything you had to say. Under Myra's strenuous impulsion we went to London in the winter of nineteen twelve, thirteen, for a few weeks. We did have an awfully good time. Myra took us with her to stay with Colonel and Mrs. Rogers at Riverhill in Surrey. This was in the vicinity of Knole and of Ightham Mote, beautiful houses and beautiful parks. This was my first experience of
country-house visiting in England since, as a small child, I had only been in the nursery. I enjoyed every minute of it. The comfort, the open fires, the tall maids who were like annunciation angels, the beautiful gardens, the children, the ease of it all. And the quantity of objects and of beautiful things. What is that, I would ask Mrs. Rogers, ah that I know nothing about, it was here when I came. It gave me a feeling that there had been so many lovely brides in that house who had found all
these things there when they came."

Mira married Frderick Burt in 1914 in New York before they headed to Europe MIRA EDGERLY WEDS.; She Becomes the Bride of Frederick Burr at ... The wedding notice comments that she had painted a miniature of Princess Patricia, a grand daughter of Queen Victoria, while in Ottawa. However the marriage does not seem to have lasted very long, whether due to the death of Burt or divorce is not clear. Mira returned to America by herself in August 1914 on SS Carpania.

In his 1944 book "As Much as I Dare", Burgess Johnson made the following comment; "In the early days of the first World War, two or three young women who had been students of mine were working for the Red Cross and the Food Administration in Washington and shared an apartment. Mira Edgerly was then painting portraits at the national capital and I wrote them that they should meet her. They invited her to tea where she proved to be the center of interest. Late in the afternoon a young Polish officer arrived, an engineer assigned by his government to inspect munitions purchased by Poland in America. According to the accounts of my young friends he settled down by the Edgerly's side for the balance of the afternoon and the two were there when everyone but the hostesses had gone. Two months later Mira Edgerly and Count Alfred Korzybski were married."

Johnson's memory seems to be a little out however, as the marriage to Alfred was in 1919, which was after WWI, not in the early days of WWI. Count Alfred Korzybski (1879-1950), was a well-known Polish-American linguist, author, and pioneer in semantics, and for some years Mira successfully juggled her art with helping her husband in his endeavours.

The couple lived in various places throughout the USA, and when Korzybski was appointed head of the Institute of General Semantics, they divided their time between Chicago and Lakeville, CT. Both are buried in the cemetery in Lime Rock CT, the town next to Lakeville. For more about their meeting see Edgerly, Mira

A large quantity of her papers are held at Columbia University see Mira Edgerly Korzybska Papers ca.1850-1960. and it is hoped that the papers may be able to reveal the names of these three sisters, as to date the sitters have not been identified. Columbia University was twice approached to see if they could please check the work books they hold that record all Mira Edgerly's work, to see if there was a record of a miniature of three sisters, but unfortunately they have never replied. 1242

Wheeler, Janet - portrait of man and lady

2007-06-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

This pair of miniatures are believed to both be by Janet Derinda Wheeler (1866-1945), although only the one of the lady is signed "Janet Wheeler". This may be her married name, as in the 1910 census she stated she was living with her stepson Leon Wheeler aged 17. However, she always seems to have described herself as single and so it is possible Wheeler was her maiden name.

She was born in Detroit, MI and trained in Paris at Academies Julian and Courtois. She won several medals, including a gold medal at the Philadelphia Art Club in 1902 and a silver medal for painting at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, see Final Report of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission by ...

There is some confusion over her year of birth and she has added to this by the various dates of birth she gave when returning to the United States from her many trips abroad. In the census records she disclosed assets of only a few hundred dollars and it is not known how she funded her overseas trips, of which there seem to have been at least 20, mainly to Europe.

She was very accurate with her birthday, always shown as 24 December and her state of birth as Michigan, but the years she stated in her immigration declarations for her birth year include; 1860, 1861, 1866, 1867, 1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, and 1874 !!
For the 1900 census she stated the year was 1866, and at the time she was living as a boarder in Philadeplphia and 1866 is also stated in other census records.

The miniature of the man is interesting as the overall portrait of him shows how artists bought ivory sheets and then needed to cut them to the desired shape to avoid imperfections.

Both of the sitters are unknown. 276a, 276b

Poultney, Richard Curzon - portrait of a young lady

2007-06-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting miniature portrait. It is signed with a monogram and date "R C P 1889" for Richard Curzon Poultney. Poultney is described in Blattel as a British artist, but research has shown that he was actually American.

The miniature is interesting as it is the earliest American miniature in this collection showing the influence of the brighter palette associated with Impressionism.

Most miniatures prior to this date were trying to imitate photographs. However, it seems Poultney went and studied in Europe and was influenced by the Art Nouveau style. This miniature seems much more like a life portrait, than a copy of a photograph.

Poultney was a member of a very wealthy family from Baltimore, Maryland. He was born in 1860 and died as still a young man in 1897. If he had lived longer, it seems almost certain he would have become as well known as other 1900 miniaturists such as WJ Baer, Alyn Williams, and Eulabee Dix.

There are two references that record Poultney as an artist. The Baltimore directory for 1890 lists him as an artist living at 1320 Bolton St , Baltimore. Then on Jul 30 1894 he arrived back in USA from Europe on the SS Umbria, giving his occupation as artist.

In the 1880 census he is recorded as living with his parents Thomas and Susan Poultney and siblings in Baltimore where his father was with the Baltimore Oil Company.

His uncle Walter de Curzon Poultney (1845-1929) who also worked for the oil company was a well known socialite of the time.

Other miniatures by Poultney are held by the Maryland Historical Society, one of which seems to be of a close relation, see Maryland ArtSource - Collections - Nancy Poultney Falconer (Mrs ...

Unfortunately, the sitter in this portrait is unknown. 1245

Carlson, Edward W - portrait of a boy in uniform

2007-05-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of a young boy is signed at the lower right; "E W Carlson 1925" and under that signed again "Edward W Carlson".

This appears to be for the artist Edward W Carlson (1883-?) who is recorded as a Chicago painter active in the 1920's and 1930's. However, his other work seems to have been landscapes, as an oil on board titled "The Siding" was offered for auction in 1998 with an estimate of $500-$700.

He has not previously been recorded as a painter of miniatures, although judging by this item, he was quite competent at painting portraits. In the 1910 census he was living with a Holmquist family in Chicago as a lodger and gave his occupation as artist. He was born in Illinois, although his parents were Swedish.

Carlson appears to have separated from his wife, as in the 1930 census when he was aged 47, he stated he was married and had first married at age 20. He was lodging in Chicago with a Marjorie Carlson aged 17, who was probably his daughter. He described himself as a commercial artist, but disclosed no assets, whereas other lodgers were disclosing assets as low as $40, and thus he was presumably badly affected by the Great Depression.

The sitter is unknown, but is wearing a uniform, perhaps from the Sea Cadets version of the Boy Scouts. 1235

Hartman, M - portrait of a man

2007-05-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed "M Hartman" in red at the lower right.

There is already one miniature portrait by this artist in the collection, of a man with a bow tie. For comparative purposes it is also shown here.

However, little has been found out about the artist, although there is an example by him/her in the Metropolitan Museum collection, titled "portrait of a boy with doll".

There is believed to have been an artist, Marcia Hartman who signed "M Hartman", but it is not clear whether she painted miniatures. Thus, she may possibly be the artist.

The sitter is unknown. However, the adjacent portrait of an older lady by Marian Harper was acquired from the same vendor at the same time. Given the apparent facial likeness, it seems they may well be mother and son. 1226

Harper, Marian Dunlap - portrait of a lady

2007-05-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed Marian D Harper for
Marian Dunlap Harper (1885-?) who was born in Iowa, Feb 1885, as Marian L Dunlap, the younger daughter of Charles Carroll Dunlap (2 Feb 1855-?) and Nettie Howell. Charles was a broker, presumably on the Chicago Exchange, and was successful, as in 1910 both daughters, Elizabeth 30 and Marian 25 lived at home and had no paid occupations.

In turn, Charles Dunlap was the son of William H Dunlap and Maryann Elliott Fish. William, born in Ohio, was a wealthy merchant, disclosing assets of $30,000 in 1860 at age 25 and living in Eddyville, Iowa. It seems possible that William was related to the noted American miniaturist William Dunlap (1766-1839), but so far, no relationship has been found.

Marian Dunlap married Fay R Harper (1876-?) and they had a daughter Jeane Harper born in 1915. Fay was an artist and illustrator with his own practice. He must have been quite successful, as in 1920 they lived in New Trier, Il and had a maid. They appear to have survived the Great Depression, as in 1930 they still had a maid and disclosed assets of $24,000. However, Fay now described himself as a portrait painter and Marian described herself as a miniature artist.

Unfortunately, this sitter is unknown. 1225

P.S. As I say, no link has yet been proved, but for those wishing to know more about William Dunlap the miniaturist, from the World Book Encyclopedia; "The First notable American dramatist was William Dunlap [1766-1839], who was also a manager, painter, and historian of the theater. In his autobiography, published in the "Rise of the Arts of Design" (1, 1969 ed., 267), William Dunlap wrote the following about his early life in New York: "I sought assiduously to gain knowledge, but unfortunately could not be content without exposing my ignorance by writing and publishing... I was likewise drawn into some societies called convivial; and as I had been a member of Buck's lodge in London, so at home I became a Black Friar and a Mason; but happily I was withdrawn from this course by marriage with Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Benjamin Woolsey, deceased, and Anne his second wife, the daughter of Doctor Muirson." It was probably about the time of his marriage to her daughter that the artist painted the miniature of Anne (Muirson) Woolsey.)

De Haas, Alice Preble Tucker - portrait of a young lady

2007-04-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed on the front "A de Haas" and on the reverse "Alice Preble Tucker de Haas, Dec 1896".

Alice Preble Tucker (1859-1920) was born 12 April 1859 in the 6th Ward of Boston, Massachusetts, where her father Edgar Tucker was a successful merchant who disclosed assets of $10,000 in the 1860 census, even though he was only 29 years old.

Alice's mother's maiden name was Mary A Preble and Mary was the granddaughter of Commodore Edward Preble, the naval hero, see Edward Preble - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia There is now also a miniature portrait of him in this collection, see Colby, Clara - portrait of Commodore Edward Preble... In 1860 Mary was aged 24 and at that time Alice was the only child, aged 1, but even so they had three servants.

Alice studied at the Cooper-Union and with Mauritz Frederik Hendrik De Haas (1832-1895) a Dutch-American marine painter who was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, see Mauritz de Haas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Alice married him on 22 May 1895 in Manhattan, but he died later the same year on 23 November. She also studied with Swain Gifford, William Chase, and Rhoda Holmes Nicholls.

Thus by the 1910 census Alice was widowed, but living in Ward 15, Manhattan, New York where she had an artist's studio and supplemented her income by taking in a lodger. On 13 Jul 1917 she married William Carpender (30 Jan 1844- 25 Nov 1927) a widower and wealthy retired stock broker. For the 1920 census they lived in Manhattan with two servants, but Alice herself died on 11 Jun 1920.

Her exhibition record is lengthy and includes the St. Louis Exposition of 1904, the Art Institute of Chicago, NY Water Color Society and the NY Society of Miniature Painters. Her works were also shown at the National Academy of Design, American Water Color Society, the Boston Art Club and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Many museums incorporated her work in their shows including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and the Portland Art Museum, Maine. In 1917 she exhibited two works "Drying the Sails" and "Just Dishes" with the Society of Independent Artists. 1228

Pearce, Leonard - Revolutionary Heroes

2007-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

Although these four wax miniatures are by a British artist Leonard Pearce and of 18C sitters, they have been included in the American 20C gallery, as they are of 20C creation.

Little has so far been found out about Leonard Pearce, but his full name may be Leonard John Pearce and his work seem to have been also used on items issued by Franklin Mint.

The sitters are Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, Lafayette, and George Washington.

The miniatures can be classified as modern decorative items, but they were acquired for the collection because of their high quality production and as good examples of the skill of wax modellers, who did tend to make multiple copies of their original wax sculptures. As these have been scanned through glass the quality of detail is not as clear as one would like.

Each miniature has a printed and hand numbered citation on the reverse. In abbreviated form this states, "one of a series of four miniatures...commissioned to celebrate the bi-centenary...modelled by Leonard Pearce". This set is number 60. 1165a, 1165b, 1165c, 1165d

Later - Some biographical information has now emerged:
"Leonard J. Pearce - Biography

Born London, 1932 but spent formative years at Sutton, Surrey. From local art school went on to City & Guilds School of Art in London to study fine art, drawing & painting. Began his career in a design studio, working on architectural, graphic, and product design projects. Started own practice in the early sixties, specializing in graphics, and gained membership in the Royal Society of Industrial Arts & Designers. Since 1971, has reverted to fine art, mainly the painting of old sailing craft & steamships in a traditional manner. The style is reminiscent of 19th century "ship portraits" derived from childhood memories of marine paintings & engravings in his late father's collection of Victorian Art. Examples of Len Pearce paintings can be found in prominent marine art collections in many parts of the world, including the permanent collection of the Mystic Seaport Museum. Featured in "20th Century British Marine Painting" by Denys-Brook-Hart, published 1981.

Exhibits:
St. Katherine's Dock Yacht Haven, London 1975 & 1976 Special exhibit of "Tall Ships" painted especially for the Abercrombie & Fitch
Gallery, New York, in conjunction with "Operation Sail" 1976. One-man show, Mystic Seaport Museum, 1977; prizewinner International Maritime Art Show, 1982 Participation in "Sea, Sails and Ports" exhibit of important marine paintings at Kennedy galleries, New York 1977 One-man show Horton-Point Lighthouse Museum, Long Island, 1978. Inclusion in "A Unique Marine Exhibition" at the Incurable Collector, New York, 1978, followed by special exhibit of Pearce works in March 1979, and regular exhibits of his work. Annual Show, The Royal Society of Marine Artists; London International Boat Show, from 1978. L.J. Pearce has also prepared a series of 12 "The Great 19th Century Clipperships" on fine porcelain & gilt plates for the Franklin Mint."

Hayward, Isabelle Victoria - portrait of Margaret Campbell

2006-12-02T00:52:00.000-08:00

This is a very large for a miniature portrait, being 150 mm x 110 mm. However, it still classifies as a miniature portrait and in fact the head of the sitter is depicted as of similar size as a sitter's head in a more normal sized miniature.

The miniature is signed "I Victoria Hayward" for Isabelle Victoria Hayward (7 Oct 1868-Jun 1967) who was born in New York. In the 1900 census, she was living with her widowed mother, Mary Law Hayward and her mother's brother George Law, at Manchester, Passiac NJ and gave her occupation as miniature painter. Victoria seems to have never married and died in 1967.

Interestingly, in the 1860 New York census, Mary Law as she was then and aged 17, gave her occupation as photographist. This must have been a most unusual occupation for a female at that time, although in the same household Jane Downs aged 18, also described herself as a photographist.

The reverse of the case is stamped "Tiffany & Co" and engraved "Margaret Ann Prall Campbell - Age 45 1894". Margaret Ann Prall (15 Dec 1848-<1930) was born in Passiac, NJ where her father, Edwin Theodore Prall was a locomotive engine builder, disclosing assets of $5000 in the 1860 census. This was quite wealthy for the time and the family had two live-in servants and a live-in nurse. By 1870 her father appears to have died, but her mother Rachel disclosed assets of $40,000

Margaret married Henry Goodwin Campbell, a stockbroker, 21 Oct 1874 and they lived in Passiac NJ. It seems they must have been related in some way, as in the 1860 census Henry was living as part of a large household headed by Abraham H Godwin, a wealthy cotton spinner who seems to have traded under the name A Prall & Co. The household contained members of the Godwin, Campbell, and Prall families. In 1900 Henry and Margaret had two sons, Henry G Campbell aged 24 and Edwin Prall Campbell aged 22, who were both also stockbrokers. Margaret died between the 1920 and the 1930 census, but Henry was still alive and disclosed assets of $200,000. His career had been as a stockbroker, but to still be worth $200,000 in 1930 suggests that he had managed to financially survive the Wall Street Crash of 1929. 1203

Kelly, Margaret Burnham - portrait of herself

2006-11-21T01:01:00.000-08:00

Inside this miniature portrait on ivory there is the following inscription; "Painted by Margaret Burnham Kelly for her husband's 37th birthday June 3rd 1910 M.B.K."

Margaret Burnham Kelly (Jul 1884-Feb 1971), born Margaret Burnham, and later after her second marriage, recorded as Margaret Burnham Kelly Stower, is not recorded in Blattel. However, the following research has been carried out on her life.

Initially, the only obvious Internet reference is a 1999 obituary which appears to refer to her daughter. It is as follows; "Kelly, Ellen B., 89, of Berlin, died June 27. Born in 1910 in Evanston, Il, she was the daughter of George Thomas Kelly and Margaret (Burnham) Kelly Stower. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and worked toward a master's degree in economics at Columbia University. She was a founding member of the Madison (Conn.) Homemakers and was also a member of the Bennington Friends Meeting of Vermont (Quakers). Survivors include a son, George Thomas."

From genealogy sites it has been possible to document some of the life of Margaret Burnham.

She was born 17 Jul 1884 in Chicago, the daughter of Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912) the pre-eminent architect of America at the turn of the 20C, and his wife Margaret Graham Sherman (9 Nov 1850-23 Dec 1945) who were married on 20 Jan 1876 in Chicago.

Daniel Hudson Burnham has been described as one of the foremost city planners of his day and an important influence on the development of Chicago.

He pioneered the development of steel framed buildings and his designs included the Flatiron Building in New York, Union Station in Washington DC, as well as important overseas buildings such as the Finance Building, the Agriculture Building, and the Legislative Building all latter three being in Manila, in the Philippines.

See also Daniel Burnham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Daniel Hudson Burnham - Historic Architect There is a list of all his buildings at D.H. Burnham & Company

With his partner John Root he first formed Burnham & Root, but after Root died he formed D H Burnham & Company.

There is a biography of Daniel Burnham by Thomas D Hines at Burnham of Chicago: Architect and Planner - Google Books Result

Burnham is the author of the quote "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die."

Margaret was obviously proud of her father, shown here, as she gave several of her children the name Burnham, either as their first or second name.

Genealogy sites also show that Margaret's husband, George Thomas Kelly, born 3 Jun 1873 arrived in New York on the "Moltke" on 21 Feb 1913. He gave his place of birth as Enelaine, Wisconsin. He was accompanied by his wife, Margaret B Kelly who was born 17 Jul 1884 in Chicago Illinois. They gave their residential address as 1028 Judson Av, Evanston, Il. In his WWI draft card, George Thomas Kelly disclosed that he was a lawyer and senior member of a Chicago law firm, Kelly, Hale, Brownson, and Holly (sp?). He was tall, of medium build, had blue eyes and grey hair.

In the 1880 census he had lived in Wisconsin with his parents, John and Margaret Kelly, where his father who was born in Ireland, was a retail grocer. By the 1900 census, John was a lawyer living in Chicago where he was sharing an apartment with a chemistry professor and a publisher.

George I Kelly and Margaret Burnham were married in Evanston, IL on 1 Dec 1906. In the 1910 census George was a lawyer in general practice, married to Margaret and living with two daughters Margaret B Kelly aged 2 and Barbara Kelly aged 1, together with two live-in servants.

Their home at 1028 Judson Avenue, Evanston, Il was large at some 3,800 square feet on two levels and on an 18,800 square foot lot. It is still there, shown in this recent photo as Ely House, and is one of the oldest buildings in Evanston. It was originally built in the 1850’s as a tannery and converted into a residential home in the 1870’s. It was Margaret Burnham Kelly who had the house remodelled before selling it to Ely in 1925, see http://www.lai.org/newsletter/mar2005.htm.

Unfortunately, George Kelly died in 1918 in the Influenza Epidemic and so in the 1920 census Margaret Burnham Kelly recorded herself as head of the household, but now as a widow with five children aged 12 or below. Although left a widow, she was obviously well off, as she had two nurses and a cook living in. By the 1930 census, Margaret was remarried to Benjamin F Stower a bank cashier and living in Providence, RI with her children. However, this marriage ended in divorce in the early 1930's.

Update - A kind visitor being a granddaughter of Margaret Burnham Kelly has also provided the following information. "Uncle John and grandmother were very fond of artists. Uncle John had even planned to buy land in Guatemala where artists could live and paint. Grandmother was an avid pilot. She flew a Standard Waco Biplane and was one of the first women her age to obtain a license. She had a problem with depth perception so she hired Lane Smith who later became chief regional pilot for Western Airlines. I have the original letter from the Department of Commerce issuing her a student license that is dated April 29, 1936, one of her log books, membership card to the National Aeronautic Association of U.S.A. dated January 1939, a photograph of her plane with mother grandmother and Lane standing nest to it, a news clipping with a photograph of her pilot Lane Smith from the Sportsman Pilot dated January 15, 1938, and a telegram asking my mother if she wanted to fly to Guatemala with her dated 1937."

At Margaret Geddes there is a reference that suggests a Margaret Burnham Kelly was active as an architect in RI and DC between 1930 and 1960 under the name Margaret Geddes. It seems this was Margaret's daughter, also named Margaret Burnham Kelly (1908-?), with Margaret Geddes her married name. Quite likely she was the Margaret Geddes born 26 Sep 1907 who died 18 Feb 1995.

It appears that a son Burnham Kelly (1912-1999) was also a well known architect and Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University, 1960-1971.

Margaret Burnham the Author

A kind visitor has raised the possibility that Margaret Burnham, either the mother (1850-?) or the daughter (1884-1971), was the author of several books written in 1911 and 1912 about girl aviators. This visitor has been researching children's books, but has been unable to find out any personal details about Margaret Burnham the author.

This was an interesting thought, especially as the artist for another miniature self portrait in this collection, Anna Coleman Watts Ladd also wrote two books around the same date, see View.

I need to stress that Margaret Burnham Kelly's granddaughter has no recollection of her grandmother ever mentioning writing books, and thus at this point she doubts the connection. However, the granddaughter also had thought there is no family tradition of Margaret painting miniature portraits, but this example has emerged.

Thus the story of Margaret Burnham the author is included here, in case any visitor can assist in clarifying the authorship. Also, the research below sheds interesting light on some aspects of the history and dangers for early "girl aviators".

Margaret Burnham Kelly, the daughter as depicted in the miniature on this page, did seem to be quite a possibility, as the four books were published in Chicago where Margaret was living at the time. She had travelled overseas with her parents to the Philippines and had several children of her own which may well have inspired her to write. As indicated above she also had her own Standard Waco biplane in the 1930's and the 1930's was also a time when the books below were re-issued as a new edition. Additionally, several famous lady aviators were of a similar age to Margaret.

Yet another connection is that I understand that to at least one grandchild, Margaret Burnham Kelly was referred to Granny Peg, and the heroine in the first story is named Peggy. The use of the Spanish word "cinch" as mentioned below, could have been picked up by her or her father while the family was in the Philippines or South America.

Even her fathers' quote as above fits; "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work." The year 1912 when the series ended, was also the year Margaret Burnham Kelly's father died.

Nevertheless, as mentioned above the family currently doubts a connection.

The Books

These were ahead of their time, as a commenter has remarked: "For instance, in a 1911 book titled "The Girl Aviators on Golden Wings" by Margaret Burnham, the female characters fly airplanes during a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote in the real world!". Refer Linda Joy Singleton

The four books in question are;

"The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship" - Chicago and New York 1911
"The Girl Aviators on Golden Wings" - Chicago and New York 1911
"The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise" - New York 1911
"The Girl Aviators' Motor Butterfly" - New York 1912

and were advertised by the publisher as
GIRL AVIATORS SERIES
Clean Aviation Stories

By MARGARET BURNHAM.

Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid

THE GIRL AVIATORS AND THE PHANTOM AIRSHIP.
Roy Prescott was fortunate in having a sister so clever and devoted to him and his interests that they could share work and play with mutual pleasure and to mutual advantage.

This proved especially true in relation to the manufacture and manipulation of their aeroplane, and Peggy won well deserved fame for her skill and good sense as an aviator.

There were many stumbling blocks in their terrestrial path, but they soared above them all to ultimate success.

(Although there is no further clue to the author, this book was favourably reviewed in the New York Times for December 3, 1911 - see IN THE DARING DAYS OF YOUTH; Books of Adventure Which Will Serve ... where the reviewer says; "It is a thrilling tale.")

THE GIRL AVIATORS ON GOLDEN WINGS.
That there is a peculiar fascination about aviation that wins and holds girl enthusiasts as well as boys is proved by this tale.

On golden wings the girl aviators rose for many an exciting flight, and met strange and unexpected experiences.

THE GIRL AVIATORS' SKY CRUISE.
To most girls a coaching or yachting trip is an adventure. How much more perilous an adventure a "sky cruise" might be is suggested by the title and proved by the story itself.

(Not many books are mentioned in dictionaries, but there is a dictionary reference to "The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise" as a very early use of the word "cinch" - see cinch - Wiktionary)

THE GIRL AVIATORS' MOTOR BUTTERFLY.
The delicacy of flight suggested by the word "butterfly," the mechanical power implied by "motor," the ability to control assured in the title "aviator," all combined with the personality and enthusiasm of girls themselves, make this story one for any girl or other reader "to go crazy over."

Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price.

HURST & COMPANY Publishers NEW YORK

The free text for three of them can be found on the Internet at the following links;
The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise by Margaret Burnham - Full Text Free ...
The Girl Aviators Motor Butterfly
...The Girl Aviators on Golden Wings by Margaret Burnham - Project ...

The End of the Series
The Girl Aviators series of books probably came to a sudden halt in late 1912 due to several real life fatal airplane crashes of "girl aviators", as referred to an article by Prof. Fred Erisman on the earliest female aviators.

He commented how a several well publicized crashes in 1912 probably doomed Baum's Flying Girl series and Margaret Burnham's Girl Aviators series in the market, see Oz and Ends: November 2006 Fred Erisman's article may have been repeated as "Flying Suffragettes" in Dime Novel Round-Up for April 2007.

The air crashes referred to were the death of Miss Susanne Bernard, (1892-1912) in France on Mar 10 1912, Mrs Julia Clark (1882-1912) on June 18, 1912 at Springfield IL, USA, and Harriet Quimby (1875-1912) on Jul 1 1912 at Squantum, MA, USA.

Harriet Quimby had been the first American lady to earn a pilots' licence and was the first lady to fly the English Channel. Quimby was a journalist who was also very beautiful and stylish. At a time when other pilots, most of whom were male, flew in very undistinguished gear, she designed her own trademark flight suit, a purple satin outfit with a hood, which she wore whenever she flew. The biography of Harriet Quimby says she was born in Michigan, but in the 1910 census for Manhattan, where she lodged, she records her birthplace as California, presumably as her family had moved to San Francisco in the early 1900's.

Julia Clark was one of only three licensed lady pilots at the time of her own death. Suzanne Bernard was a French lady who was in training to be a pilot at the time of her death.

The four books were reprinted probably in the 1930's, although undated, by M A Donohue & Company of Chicago, with a different cover design and a dust jacket, as seen in this example.

Another early plane crash
In a sad way there is another connection with miniature portraits and early airplane crashes. A recent and very generous benefactor to the city of Cincinnati is Charles Fleischmann who has donated many miniatures to the Cincinnati Art Museum. A forbear of his who had the same name, was a Charles Fleischmann, who was unfortunately killed in an airplane crash on August 3, 1917.

This earlier Charles Fleischmann, was the son of Julius Fleischmann, the ex-Mayor of Cincinnati. He and Harry Witts of the firm of Crofts Witts, builders of hydro-aeroplanes at Bay Shore, died when their plane crashed into a shallow part of Great South Bay at Mineola Airfield. The earlier Charles Fleischmann had only the previous week announced his engagement to a Miss Florence McGregor Sheldon of Brooklyn. See THREE KILLED IN FALLING AIRPLANES; Charles Fleischmann and Harry ... 1195

Starr, Katharine Payne - portrait of herself

2006-05-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed on the front "K Starr 1935" for Katharine Payne Starr (19 Sep 1869-12 May 1943). (Note that the literature often records her name as Katherine Payne Starr, but this miniature is twice inscribed by her as Katharine, with an "a".)

On the reverse of the frame it is inscribed " "The Old Sofa" by Katharine Starr, 12108 View Crest Road, North Hollywood, Calif". However it is additionally inscribed inside the frame " "The Old Sofa" or "When Grandmama Wore Pink" self portrait from photo taken in 1912 and modernised in 1935. Katharine Payne Starr pinxit".

The close up shows the quality of her painting, as in the original the distance between her pupils is only one quarter of one inch (6mm). The hands are also well painted, which is the sign of a competent artist.

In the 1880 census Katharine is recorded as Katie Payne aged 10 and living with her parents and siblings in Jackson, Missouri. Her father, James E Payne, gave his occupation, as editor. By the 1900 census, she was married to Frederick Henry Starr. He was a sales manager for the LCC Manufacturing Co. They seem to have moved around quite a lot, as their three children are recorded as being born in Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Katharine Payne Starr died in Los Angeles 12 May 1943.

Yale, Gisetta Mava - medal

2006-05-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Pictured here is a silver medal awarded to Gisetta Mava Yale by the Cooper Union. It is 37 mm in diameter. On the front it is inscribed "Cooper Union - New York - Qui non proficit deficit - Founded May 25th 1859". On the reverse it is inscribed "Awarded to Gisetta Mava Yale - Miniature Painting from Life". The medal is housed in an original leather case. The retailers mark inside is rubbed, but appears to read "H Popper & Son - 402 5th Ave. and (?) 101 (?) Fulton Street - New York".

So far no other record has been found for this artist and only one other example of the medal has been seen. The artist must have been very competent and, judging by the inscription, it seems it was awarded for painting miniature portraits. The date of issue is not apparent, but was probably around 1900. An enquiry has been made of Cooper Union, but no reply was received. For more about the Cooper Union see Welcome to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

The only other instance so far located of a medal like this, is a single bronze medal in the NYHS eMuseum. That one was awarded to Helen M Turner for oil painting portrait and is dated 1899. 1007

Recently this reference to the Cooper Union Prize was found in the NYT of 2 June 1909. The only other instance so far located of a medal like this, is a single bronze medal in the NYHS eMuseum. That one was awarded to Helen M Turner for oil painting portrait and is dated 1899. Thus it is possible that more silver and bronze examples exist.

Toerring, Helene - portrait of a youg lady

2006-05-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Helene Toerring (Sep 1870- <1930) was born Helene Kunze, Dec 1870, in Davenport Iowa. She was the daughter of Dr A Kunze (1839-?) of Prussia and his wife Helene, born in Iowa. Helene married Christian Toerring who was Danish and whose parents had immigrated to Iowa from Denmark in 1847. They were married in the 1890's but Christian died young, leaving Helene as a widow with a young daughter, named Helene Carlotta Toerring.
In the 1920 census Helene described herself as an illustrator and was living in Philadelphia with her daughter Helene, a social worker and two of her spinster sisters, Hedwig Kunze, a manager and Emma Kunze, a teacher. Her address in 1927 was 6399 Woodline Ave, Philadelphia.
The sitter in this portrait is unknown. 1191

Eckardt, Otto - portraits of Marmet family 1

2006-05-25T21:37:00.001-07:00

This group of portraits are all signed by Otto Eckardt of Dresden. They were acquired via public auction from a vendor in Ohio who described them as "nine colored photographs". However, they are all painted portraits on ivory. The vendor also advised that a friend had purchased them at an estate auction several years earlier, so that must have been around 1998/2000.

As is mentioned elsewhere, there was a practice at the end of the 19C, of sending family photographs to Germany to be copied as miniature paintings on ivory, and sometimes on porcelain. The various Eckardt family members seem to have painted a large number of portraits of this nature. Some of these other Eckardts are included elsewhere in this collection

The fifth and sixth portraits here are noted on the rear as Great Grandmother Marmet and Great Grandfather Marmet. The seventh one is described as Great Aunt Lena. This information has enabled, with some certainty, the identification of the group as descendants of a Dr William Marmet, who emigrated from Baden, Germany to the United States, in 1849.

(Although the records in America refer to Baden, a kind visitor from Germany has advised the following correction; "I have a point to add: the Marmet family did not leave from Baden/Germany to the US, they came from a small westphalian village Sendenhorst (near Muenster, Westhalia). My wife is descendant of William Marmets youngest brother, who remained in Germany.")

It is interesting to compare the 1849 passenger list for the family with the 1850 cenus, as the family changed several names to a more English format on arrival in USA. The only real inconsistency in comparing the lists is that the youngest child appears to be recorded as a female on one list and a male on the other list.
1849 passenger list -----------1850 census
Otto Marmet ----------------William Marmet 57 M Physician
Clara Niehaus (wife) -----Clara 52 F
Elis ------------------------------Elise 22 F
Otto -----------------------------Otto 21 M
Carl -----------------------------Charles 20 M
Florenz -------------------------Florence 19 F
Fritz -------------------- --------Frederick 17 M
Clementine ------------------Clementina 16 F
Clara Pauline ---------------Paul 12 M (sic)

There is a census reference to Charles as a produce merchant and to Frederick as a jeweller. Two other sons, Florence and Otto commenced business as coal merchants. Their business flourished and they founded the Marmet Coal and Mining Company. They also had river steamers. The town of Marmet in West Virginia is named for them. Florence Marmet was president of the Zoological gardens in Cincinnati and vice-president of the German National Bank.

In case it is of interest to other researchers, the family history seems to be as follows. In the 1880 Census Otto Marmet (aged 52) a coal merchant was living in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio with his wife Sallie Marmet 37 (nee Bogen), his two daughters, Clara 17 and Lena 15 , and also his wife's parents, George 70 and Mary Bogen 69. There is a later reference to Clara Marmet marrying Rudolph Hugh Reemelin b 1855 on Oct 18 1882. They had three children; Sallie b1884, Otto b1886 and Lena Louisa b1893. See HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO A reference has also been found to a Lena Marmet marrying A M Smith on 4 Feb 1885 in Hamilton Ohio. Also in the 1880 census, Florence Marmet (aged 49) a coal merchant was living in Cincinnati with his wife Lucy 33, and his three children William 11, Ida 6, and Otto 3. Florence is believed to have died in 1887.

Showing front and reverse is a pre-stamped postcard dated June 14, 1886 stating how many wagons of coal had been shipped by The Marmet Company on Jun 12, 1886 to the Terre Haute Gas Company.

The Marmet family also owned ships and some of them are shown here. From the top is the "Otto Marmet" on a postcard titled "Steamer "Otto Marmet" Building, Nov. 17th,1907".

Secondly, there is the "Florence Marmet" built in 1900 using material from the old "Ark" which had been built in 1873.

Thirdly, is the "Ark" from which the "Florence Marmet" was built.

Fourthly, is the "Florence Marmet" pushing a line of coal barges on the Ohio River.

Fifthly, is the "Florence Marmet" embedded in ice during the winter of 1917/1918.

There is believed to have been at least one other ships, the "Sallie Marmet".

The last of the Marmet coal family to carry the name was Leopold Kleybolte Marmet of Charleston West Virginia. There is still a prize at Marshall University in memory of Leopold K Marmet and Elizabeth F Marmet, see Marshall University - Office of Student Services Leopold was born 10 Jan 1907 and died 31 Aug 1998.

This date of death seems to fit with the above reference to a dealer acquiring the frame of miniatures around 2000. Leopold advised another, but unrelated, Marmet researcher, that his grandfather was Florenz Marmet and his father was Edwin Marmet, a steam boat captain who married Miss Kleybolte. Also that Florenz's daughter Ida married Rudolf Kleybolte, her brother in law, they had a daughter Florence Kleybolte who was born in 1901.

Given this, it seems that name of Miss Kleybolte was Susie, as in the 1880 Census a Rudolph Kleybolte b1870 was living with his family in Cincinnati, the family including his sister called Susie b1874. Leopold also referred to another Sallie Marmet who was a sister to Florence and Otto. This may have been a reference to Elise as above.

It also seems that Florence's son Otto born in 1877, changed his name to Edwin, as the two names are given for the son of Florence Marmet in the 1900 census, William and Edwin are different to the names in the 1880 census, William and Otto, although the birth years are the same in both instances. Perhaps Edwin was the second name of Otto and he did not want people to think that the ship "Otto Marmet" was named after himself, when it was actually named after his uncle. For further references see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmet,_West_Virginia where William and Edwin are referred to as the developers of large coal fields in 1899.

The family was obviously wealthy in the early 1900's, but they may have suffered financially in the Great Depression. In the 1910 census, William was living with his mother Lucy and gave his occupation as President of Coal Company, but in the 1930 census, William was living in a large boarding house with many other boarders, who had occupations such as nurse, labourer, teacher, hostess, and librarian. William appears not to have married and died 2 Apr 1941.

The handwritten identifications on the rear of the miniatures are in red ball point pen and seem to be quite recent, so much so that the writer may not have been certain of the identities, as only three are named . The reference to Great Aunt Clara suggests they were possibly put there by a grandchild of Clara Reemelin.

With the kind assistance of a Marmet descendent with access to some excellent old family photos, it has been possible to confirm some of the identities of the portraits and make educated guesses at others. The definite sitters are therefore as follows; 5 Sallie Bogen Marmet (wife of Otto Marmet), 6 Otto Marmet, 7 Lena (Mary Magdelana Marmet Wolfe - daughter of Sallie and Otto Marmet), 9 Clara Georgina Marmet Reemelin (daughter of Sallie and Otto).

The other sitters are less certain, but it is thought that two of them are younger sisters of Salli Bogen, Ann Elizabeth and Susannah (Susie), both still living in 1910.

The same kind visitor has provided the following background information. "Sallie Marmet's maiden name was Bogen and an Alfred Bogen has written a large book on the Bogen family tracing the family back to 1500 and it confirms some information from other sources - but contains some discrepancies. Sallie is called Sarah in the book and there is a good story about how her father and grandfather emigrated to the USA. They came from the Rhine valley and like Charles Reemelin they started growing wines using the Catwaba grape. I bought a bottle of wine from the same grape and it smelt of Welch's grape juice so I would not be surprised if they do not use the same grape. A restaurant was built in their old vinyards."

"George Bogen and his brother Peter seemed to make their money as pork packers - it was a family business and unfortunately it went under in 1873 - and set some case law at the time - something to do with securing assets. In his old age George and his wife, Mary Magdalene lived with Sallie and Otto Marmet. The Bogen Family tree has her name as Anna Marie but the census always has her as Mary Magdalene - one of her daughter's in the tree is just Elizabeth but has Anne added in front in the census. I think Aunt Lena was actually Magdalena."

"According to a German friend here the Pflaz region (near Mannheim) where they come from is known for its spicey sausages! It certainly struck me, when I went to the Reemelin area how many of the local dishes were reflected in my mother's cooking. Sallie was one of five daughters and two sons. Michael died as an infant. Jacob went into business with his father but died in 1888. Louise (b1832) married an Heinrich Miller who also worked as clerk in the family firm she died in 1908. Mary Magdelena b1838 married Wilhelm Muller and died in 1887, Wilhelmina (b 1845) married Hermann Alms a collector or someone in wine business? She died in 1898. Elizabeth also known as Ann Elizabeth was also married to an Alms but a William H. Alms who worked in a dry goods emporium. She died between 1910 -1920 as he was a widow in the 1920 census. Susanne the youngest born in 1848 married Samuel Neimann the President of an Insurance Co she was alive and well in 1910 but I'm not sure when she died."

"Finally Sallie and Aunt Lena ended up living in the Alms Hotel- does any one know if it was owned by cousins? Is it still there? One final question - the Bogens and Reemelins seem to be Protestant but a contact investigating the Marmet family spoke to Leopold Marmet of the West Virginian Marmet Coal company branch and he insisted the Marmets were all Catholic. I'd never heard of the Bogen family until I found George living with Sallie in the census....maybe it was the bankruptcy, just simply the female line or they lost touch with Jacob Bogen's son, but they seem a little forgotten. Although they seem to have been successful in the early days of Cincinnati!"

Close ups of the nine miniature portraits can be see at Eckardt, Otto - portraits of Marmet family along with some family photos and other information supplied by a kind visitor. 698

Eckardt, Otto - portraits of Marmet family 2

2006-05-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Marmet Family
The nine miniature portraits painted on ivory, which appear here are close-ups of the Marmet family portraits appearing at Eckardt, Otto - portraits of Marmet family There is much more there about the Marmet family. 698

Additionally, a kind visitor has supplied more information and photographs about the Marmet family and their ancestors, which appears below.

Anna Schuster married Leopold Kleybolte and they had three children. Anna Schuster was born October 31, 1849 in Germany and died, January 31, 1925 of carcinoma of the stomach at her residence. Her parents were Georg and Babbette Schuster. Leopold Kleybolte was born, December 25, 1841 in Germany and died, August 11, 1928 of general paralysis at his residence. His parents were, Rudolph Kleybolte and Eleanore Klosterman Kleybolte and Leopold was President of the West German Bank in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The children of Leopold and Anna Kleybolte, were Rudolph Kleybolte, born June 18, 1869 in Newport, Kentucky USA and died August 18, 1945 of coronary thrombosis. Rudolph married Ida Marmet and had at least one son. Secondly, Albert Kleybolte, born: May 28, 1871 and died, October 7, 1919. He was married, but divorced, and had at least one son). Thirdly, Susie Kleybolte.

Photographs of Susie Kleybolte appear above. She was born, December 14, 1874 in Newport Kentucky USA and died, June 22, 1958 of cerebral hemorrhage at her residence.

Susie married Captain Edwin Marmet, showing below, in 1906, who was then widowed and had two children, Leopold “Lee” Marmet and Anna Marie Marmet, later Pochet. (To read the obituary, click on it and a larger version should appear.)

Photographs of the two children appear below. Anna Marie Marmet was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 3, 1904 and married Louis G. Pochat. They had one daughter and two grandchildren in Ohio. Anna Marie died on January 17, 1988.

Leopold (Lee) was born on January 10, 1907 in Cincinnati, and married Elizabeth Floyd, but had no children. He died August 13, 1998 in Charleston, West Virginia.

Photographs of them a little older are shown below. It is believed that the nine miniature portraits on ivory of the Marmet family, were probably originally sold as part of an estate sale on his death in 1998.

Galli, Pia - portrait of Jane Bretney Lanier

2006-05-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

Although this miniature portrait looks ordinary, it has proved to be a most interesting one to research. It came with no history, but there have been continually amazing discoveries, as the sitter has been found to link Pocahontas, George Washington, the Battle of Harper's Ferry, General George Custer, Matthew Brady, Patrick Henry, Dolly Madison, and even a possible 20C conman!

The portrait is signed on the front by Pia Galli. Inside the case the portrait is signed again by Pia Galli, Turin, Italy and the sitter is identified as Jane Bretney Lanier. Jane was born 15 Feb 1842 and died 1 Jun 1901. Working from the obituary for her son referred to below, Jane must have been a great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry and a great-grandniece of Dolly Madison.

On 3 Sep 1857 when she was only 15, she married Powhatan Bolling Cabell (17 Oct 1828-14 Dec 1859). Powhatan was a physician and a direct descendant of the famous Pocahontas and her father Powhatan. He died quite young and Jane was remarried on 23 Feb 1864 to James Barroll Washington (26 Aug 1839-1900).

James was a great-great-grandnephew of George Washington and the son of Colonel Lewis William Washington (30 Nov 1812-1 Oct 1871). The latter was one of the main hostages at the Battle of Harper's Ferry in 1859. In the opinion of some historians, this was effectively the commencement of the Civil War. For a detailed eye witness account of the battle see http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/boteler.html and also http://flag.blackened.net/daver/1sthand/harpers_ferry.html

James Barroll Washington attended West Point and his name can be found there in the 1860 census along with 20 year old George Armstrong Custer, later General George Custer of the Battle of Little Big Horn see The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876. The two were friends at West Point, but were on opposite sides during the Civil War. As Lieutenant Washington, James was an aide on General Johnston's staff, but was captured by Union forces in 1862 when carrying dispatches. Here he met Captain George Custer and the occasion was recorded in two well known photographs by the famous photographer, Matthew Brady. One photograph used a posed contraband ex-slave to illustrate the cause of the war.

After the Civil War, James had an apparently quiet career as an accountant with the Boston and Ohio Railroad Company. In the 1870 census, James and Jane are recorded in Baltimore with three children, William Lanier Washington (30 Mar 1865-11 Sep 1933), Benjamin, and Lewis. James only disclosed assets of $100 and was therefore not well off.

The NY Times of May 16 1906, published an obituary for their younger son Lewis William Washington (Nov 20, 1869-1906), who had died the previous day in Nice, France. The obituary stated he was, through his mother, a great-great-grandson of Patrick Henry and a great-great-grandnephew of Dolly Madison, the wife of President Madison. Lewis married Anne Cox, sister of John Watson Cox. Both Lewis and his elder brother William worked for the Pittsburgh Sheet Steel Manufacturing Company, as vice president and president respectively.

In the 1900 census, their eldest son William Lanier Washington (Mar 30, 1865-1933), gave his occupation as Steel Manufacturer. William married three times; firstly to May Bruce Brennan, on 6 June 1906 but they were later divorced, secondly to Ida Alice Holland on 7 Jun (Jul?) 1919, they had a son Winston Lanier Washington, who only lived for nine months. The third marriage was to Augusta Adeline Koblank on 3 July 1923. According to his obituary published in the NY Times of Sep 12, 1933 William died at his home, Wakefield, on Boston Road, Westport, Ct. Sep 11, 1933 and "in recent years he had been the head of the Washington family in the United States".

The most recent record found of his widow, Augusta Adeline Washington is her arrival in the United States on the "Queen of Bermuda" arriving in New York on 25 Sep 1933, two weeks after William's death.

William collected items associated with President George Washington, but there seem to be conflicting views of their authenticity. The NY Times of Sep 12, 1933 published a glowing account about him and his collecting, including the comment that he was a 32nd degree mason. However, another reference infers that William had forgotten the story about George Washington and the cherry tree, suggesting he was 20C conman who purchased various early 19C items and then fraudulently resold them with fake certificates of authenticity claiming they were genuine relics of President George Washington, see Mutterings of a Mad Bookseller: The Washington Candlesticks Which ...

Thus, it has been quite amazing and very interesting to research this miniature to find what can be discovered if the sitter in a portrait is known. 1189

Munn, A - portrait of a society lady

2006-05-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed by A Munn, but the sitter is not known. 1179

Hayward, Gerald Sinclair - portrait of Mrs W M Osborn

2006-05-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed Gerald S Hayward, for Gerald Sinclair Hayward (1845-1926). He was born in Canada, but painted many notables in the United States, Britain, Germany, and Russia. He worked in New York for many years.
The sitter is identified by a label inside as "Mrs W M Osborn of Buffalo, painted by Gerald S Hayward London & New York, 1922". Thus this is a late work by Hayward as he was 77 at the time it was painted.
To date the sitter has not been identified, but a street or telephone directory for Buffalo from around 1922, would seem to be the place to start. 1172

Appel, C - portrait of a child

2006-04-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "C Appel", but nothing more is known about the artist or the sitter. 230

Carlin, F S - portrait of a lady

2006-04-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is believed to be American. It is signed a little indistinctly, but it looks to be "F S Carlin". However, no record of the artist has yet been found. 1152

Bevan, S C - portrait of President Kennedy

2006-04-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed on the reverse by a British artist, but is included here because of the subject. The artist is "S C Bevan, Tintagel, 48 St Mary's Ave, Norwood Green, Southall, Middlesex, 1964". The sitter is President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. 1143

Archambault, Anna - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T02:24:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Archambault 97" for Anna Margaretta Archambault (?-1956), who worked in Philadelphia. The sitter is unknown. 876

Aus, Carol - portrait of Mrs Armour

2006-04-10T02:20:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Carol Aus". Carol Aus (1868-1934) was born in Norway, but worked in Paris and Chicago. The sitter is Mrs Armour from the Chicago meat family. 590

Baer, William - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "W J B" for William Jacob Baer (1860-1941). The sitter is unknown. 1071

Baxter, Martha - portrait of Mrs Curtis

2006-04-10T02:14:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed "M W Baxter" for Martha Wheeler Baxter (1869-1955). The sitter is Mrs Curtis, but nothing further is known about her. 627

Biele, C - portrait of a man

2006-04-10T02:12:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "C Biele". The sitter is unknown. 975

Birnbon, A - portraits of men

2006-04-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

Although the images depicted are of different sizes, both of these miniatures are 105mm x 80mm. They were acquired several years apart but are both signed "A Birnbon" at the lower right.

They both appear to be on a very faint photographic base, with that of the younger man very hard to detect. This is where personal preference dictates whether a portrait is regarded as a painting or a photograph.

Some collectors decline to acquire miniatures on ivory with a photographic base, but they are a significant aspect of the history of portraiture and hence should be included in any collection intended to represent the social history of painted or photographic portraits.

Neither sitter is known, and little is known about A Birnbon. There is a c1899 reference at Inside the Hamlin Bank to an H Birnbon;
On Tuesday H. Birnbon, celebrated New York portrait painter, personally delivered to the Hamlin Bank & Trust Co., McKean county's oldest banking institution, in Smethport, a beautiful portrait likeness of the founder, the late Henry Hamlin, done in oil. The large painting presents a likeness of McKean county's pioneer banker which is striking in its fidelity to detail. The picture will occupy a commanding position on the wall.

It seems likely that this refers to the same artist, or else a close relation. The name Birnbon is very rare, and one wonders if the artist changed it from Birnbaum at the time of anti-German feeling during World War I. 1041, 1445

Black, Miriam - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T02:06:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "M H Black 1909" for Miriam H Black of Cleveland. The sitter is not known. 1109

Bly, M H - portrait of a man

2006-04-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

The sitter in this miniature portrait is unknown, but the portrait is signed "M H Bly" for Morton H Bly. 356

Bridges, Jane - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "Jane Bridges Chile 1901". However, she appears to be an unrecorded artist from Chile. 1073

Bush, Ella Shepherd - portrait of a girl

2006-04-10T01:56:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of a girl is signed "E S Bush", for Ella Shepherd Bush.

Ella Shepherd Bush (12 Nov 1862-10 Dec 1948) was born in Galesburg, Illinois where her father William Shaler Bush (17 Nov 1828-1896) was an editor. He had married Martha Bourne Smith on 10 Dec 1861 in Columbus, Ohio, but the family moved to Galesburg and later to Seattle where he died in 1896. Ella died in Temple City, CA.

In 1900 Ella was living as an artist in Seattle with her widowed mother, Martha Bush (Jun 1837-<1910). However, Martha had died by 1910 and Ella was living in Seattle as a boarder.

She moved to California about 1915 and won many prizes there. In 1920 she was living in Sierra Madre with Samuel and Ella Stock and described her occupation as miniature painter. In 1930 she was still living as a miniature painter in Sierra Madre and disclosed assets of $12,000. Thus at this stage of the Great Depression she was still comfortably off.

The sitter is unknown. 456

Clark, F B - portrait of Frances Reeves

2006-04-10T00:31:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "F B Clark", but nothing more is known of the artist. The sitter is Mrs Frances Reeves , the wife of Mr Frank Reeves, who is believed to have been a senior curator at the National Gallery. 820

Clark, Mabel - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T00:28:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Beatrice Smith Clark" for Mabel Beatrice Smith (Clark) (1882-1957). The sitter is unknown. 605

Clark, Mabel - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T00:25:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is unsigned, but was purchased at the same time as the adjacent portrait and is believed to be by Mabel Beatrice Smith (Clark) (1882-1957). The sitter is unknown. 605a

Claus, May Austin - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "A M Claus 1919" for May Austin Claus (1881-?). She is thought to have been born in Berlin NY, Aug 1881, probably the daughter of Henry Lewis Austin (Jul 1857-20 Mar 1929) and Josephine Eliza Baldwin (Aug 1858-20 Apr 1901).

In the 1900 census, Henry is recorded as a photographer living in Berlin, NY with Josephine and two daughters; Mary (probably should be May?) aged 18, also a photographer and Maud aged 11. It was quite common for photography and miniature painting to be a combined occupation. The census record is interesting as May's birth date is recorded as Aug 1881 and her parents are recorded as having been married for 19 years on the census date of 27 Jun 1900. Thus it seems possible May was conceived before her parents were married.

It appears that several years after his wife Josephine died in 1901, Henry, then aged 44, married Julia B Vanderkerker aged only 19 (29 Jan 1889-?) of Stillwater NY on 28 Aug 1908. As Julia's mother's maiden name was Sarah Baldwin (1854-?), it seems possible she was related to Josephine Baldwin, perhaps a niece.

In the 1920 census Henry and Julia are both recorded as photographers and have a daughter Coline Winifred Austin aged 7. Julia's mother also lived with them. The 1930 census shows that after Henry's death, Julia maintained her photographic studio but was remarried to Lewis Fish a novelty mechanic.

According to one record, May Austin was married in 1904 to A S (J?) Clause. The source for this is believed to be; Edith Austin Moore, "A Genealogy of the Descendants of Robert Austin of Kingstown, RI"; St Petersburg, FL, 1951; pp.432. However this may have been wrongly transcribed as May's husband is believed to be William Anton Joseph Claus (1862-1926). He was born in Germany in 1862, according to the 1920 census of a German father, but his mother was born in India and was presumably English, as her mother tongue is recorded in the 1920 census as English.

Confusingly, May may have used different names, as in the 1920 census, William A J Claus aged 58, a landscape artist is recorded as living with his wife Sarah A Claus aged 37, also a landscape artist, in Boston (NB Ancestry.com has transcribed Sarah's age as 77, but it should be 37). From her age, place of birth, and occupation it seems this must have been May Austin Claus. In 1905 William A J Claus was recorded as the Principal of the New England Conservatory School of Drawing and Painting, see ART NOTES.

There is an excellently researched article about May Austin Claus under the heading " The Artists of Anne of Green Gables" at Shining Scrolls Online This article discusses the artwork on the cover of the famous novel "Anne of Green Gables" which had long been attributed to May Austin Claus and her husband, but it is now believed to have been based on a portrait by a different artist. 761

Ladd, Anna Coleman Watts - self portrait

2006-04-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

This hand-painted miniature portrait is signed "Anna Coleman".

It was purchased at auction in Dedham MA, which is very close to Boston.

Correspondence with an authority on Anna Coleman Ladd (aka Anna Coleman Watts Ladd), and a comparison of the signature, gives reason to believe that the portrait was painted by Anna Coleman Ladd (nee Watts) (15 Jul 1878 - 3 Jun 1939) who came from a very wealthy family.

It looks to have been painted just before she married in 1905. At that time Anna would have been conscious that Watts was a historic and very wealthy family name. Perhaps while she was undecided whether to continue with the name Anna Coleman Watts for her work, or to use Anna Coleman Ladd, she compromised and signed the miniature Anna Coleman.

Purchased in the same lot with the miniature was an earlier miniature of a male sitter. It is also shown here, as it is possible that the sitter is a relation of Anna Coleman Ladd, as there is some facial similarity. The only clue to the identification of the male is that the rear is engraved "E B", but to date, no reference has been found to an ancestor with those initials.

From a comparison with the 1901 CDV photograph of Ladd shown above and another photograph taken around 1919 as shown further below, it is believed the miniature is a self-portrait. The 1901 portrait is in the Smithsonian, see Anna Coleman Ladd and Selected images of documents )

Within the Smithsonian papers there is a file titled "Drawings by Anna Coleman Ladd, 1902-1905, undated (2 folders)". However, it is unknown whether there is a sketch for the miniature in the file. There are also further photographs of her, but they are not available for viewing online.

She was born Anna Coleman Watts in Radnor PA, the daughter of a lawyer John Shoenberger Watts (1851-?) and Mary P Watts (1858-?). On 26 Jun 1905 she married Maynard Ladd (24 Feb 1873-1942), a Boston paediatrician who had been born in Michigan the son of a clergyman and author from Maine, Horatio Oliver Ladd (31 Aug 1839-1932). In 1881 Horatio founded the University of New Mexico and was its president until 1889. Horatio's wife was Harriet Vaughan Abbott (1830-1913) a direct descendent via her mother, of Myles Standish who arrived with the Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower, see De Fov!lle, Economist, Dead.

Anna's paternal grandfather was Henry Miller Watts (1895-1890) a very wealthy Philadelphia attorney and investor in the Marietta ironworks, see Musselman - Vesta Furnace, who in the 1870 census, disclosed assets of $750,000. This compared to the $100,000 he disclosed in the 1850 census, and $85,000 disclosed in the 1860 census. Presumably the large increase was from his receiving his wife's inheritance after her father's death.

Henry Miller Watts (see engraving and photograph here) was the grandson of Revolutionary War generals on both sides of his family and in Jan 1838 married Anna Maria Shoenberger (1816 -1883) whose father Dr Peter Shoenberger (16 Oct 1782-18 Jun 1854), owned many ironworks in PA.

Dr. Peter Shoenberger (sometimes Peter Schoenberger) was known as the Iron King, and he made a sizeable fortune mining and refining iron ore in the Pittsburgh area. For the 1850 census, he disclosed assets of $1,000,000, but according to the New York Times when he died in 1854 he was worth $5,000,000.

As seems to be relatively common with large fortunes, there was a large court case over his estate, see NYT for May 11, 1892. For more information on his career, see the 1961 book, "The Iron King: the story of Peter Shoenberger, early ironmaster of central Pennsylvania - his industrial empire,his family, his times," by Calvin W. Hetrick.

In 1868/69 Henry Miller Watts was the United States Ambassador to Austria. He also wrote about his own grandfather in "A Memoir of General Henry Miller, by His Grandson, Henry Miller Watts." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 11 (1887), 341-45; 12 (1888), 425-31. For more about Henry Miller Watts see Henry Miller Watts, Class of 1824

For some reason, which is currently not obvious, Anna and Maynard were married in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England see BMD AMJ 1905. Possibly they were there in connection with family history research for the book about Samuel Greenleaf Ladd and the Ladd family history which Horatio Oliver Ladd published in 1927, see Samuel Greeleaf Ladd and Caroline De Oliver Vinal Ladd by Horatio ... There is also evidence that Maynard Ladd travelled to England to research family history in 1893 even prior to his graduation, see MISC. PAGE

This undated relief sculpture of her husband Maynard Ladd was made by Anna Coleman Ladd.

They had two daughters Gabriella May Ladd (1906-1972) and Vernon Abbott Ladd (27 May 1909-17 Oct 1970). Gabriella remained unmarried until her mid forties when she married Henry Dwight Sedgwick (1861–1957) an American lawyer and author. At the time of their marriage he was 92 and she was 46. The full front page of the Boston Herald pictured them walking down the aisle at their marriage on May 18, 1953, see Henry Dwight Sedgwick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vernon was also a daughter, despite the name and she married the philosopher and author Gregory Vlastos (27 Jul 1907-12 Oct 1991), and shown here, who was born in Turkey and dedicated his book "Platonic Studies" to Vernon, see Gregory Vlastos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thus there was very much of a literary tradition in the family.

The Ladd family can be traced readily through the census records. Maynard Ladd had a distinguished career as an M.D. including; Associate in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, President, American Pediatric Society, Physician to Boston Children's Hospital and to the Boston Dispensary, Medical Director, Boston Children's Aid Society, and the Church.

Working in her studio in her apartment home at 270 Clarendon Street Boston, in the building shown here, Ladd became one of the city's most prolific sculptors, creating fountain pieces, portrait busts, memorials, and reliefs, in addition to authoring two novels, Hieronymus Rides in 1912, and The Candid Adventurer in 1913.

In May 1913, The New York Times reviewed the latter book and said "Mrs Ladd writes with a light and delicate touch in which there are also a certain nervous strength and a precision of method that auger well for her future work".

Between 1907 and 1915 Ladd had solo exhibitions at the Gorham Gallery in New York, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and at the Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia.

Her husband Maynard Ladd, by now a prominent Boston physician, was in charge of the American Red Cross hospital near Toul, France, during World War I.

In late 1917 in Paris, Anna Ladd founded the American Red Cross Studio for Portrait-Masks to provide cosmetic masks to be worn by men who had been badly disfigured in World War I. Her services earned her the Légion d'Honneur Crois de Chevalier and the Serbian Order of Saint Sava.

Although the masks were uncomfortable and unpopular, the facial prosthetics were produced partly because of economic necessity. Injured servicemen needed to provide for themselves and their families after they left the forces and feel as included in society as possible.

The Paris studio alone produced 220 masks between 1918 and 1919 and many masks covered only small portions of the face such as the nose or eye. The masks were made of copper and had to be painted to match the facial colouring of the wearer. This indicates Ladd did have experience of painting in a fine and delicate manner.

Ladd had relatives in San Diego and worked there seasonally from 1936 to 1938. From even before World War I, Ladd had executed busts of many famous people and her career included busts of Anna Pavlova, Ethel Barrymore and Eleanor Duse.

In the Spring of 1937, she took a studio at the Spanish Village in Balboa Park, Dan Diego. Here Ladd produced Spirit of California (shown here) which she exhibited in a show of her bronzes at the Fine Arts Gallery.

While in San Diego, she completed a bronze head of Reginald Poland, director of the Fine Arts Gallery, also shown here.

To confirm the miniature is a self portrait, it would be necessary to compare it with a photograph of her at the same age.

However, the photograph shown here of her, taken some 15 years later during World War I with soldier's masks in the background, does look very similar, especially around the eyes. Comparison also needs to recognise that an artist's self portrait is normally a mirror or reversed image, when compared with a photograph.

Anna Coleman Ladd is primarily known as a sculptor and no other miniature paintings by her are known, which increases the likelihood this miniature portrait by her is a self portrait.

For more about her see HTML Version of ProclaimHer and for reference to her papers, see A Finding Aid to the Anna Coleman Ladd Papers, 1881-1950, in the ...

Sculptures by her come on the market quite regularly and are quite varied in nature. What is not yet clear is whether each bronze was unique, or whether Ladd made multiple copies.

Two here were sold by Rago Auctions in May 2007.

A bronze satyr, 18.75ins high, titled "Forest Pan", signed and dated "A C LADD 1907" with foundry mark "Roman Bronze Works N.Y", was estimated by Rago at $2000/$2500 and sold for $1600 plus commission. Interestingly Skinners had a similar sculpture at their sale 2340/419 in 2006, but with a verdigris finish, which was estimated at $1200/1600.

Also at the Rago sale, a smaller satyr and sleeping nude, 10ins high, signed "A.C.LADD" with foundry mark "IDEAL CASTING [illegible]"; was estimated at $1500/$2000 and sold for $1400 plus commission.

However, her work can fetch more, as indicated by this bronze of "The lovers", available on eBay for $8500, 6 3/4" high x 16" long x 4 5/8" deep. Signed on the mid rear base "A.C. LADD"; Foundry mark: "T.F. McMann Sons" of Connecticut.

The next two bronzes are of very different size. The solid vertical plaque is 8ins high and sold for $600.

The very large bronze shown beneath it was titled "Anteros Eros". It shows a pair of reclining figures, is 80ins long and 32ins high, and sold at Cottone Auctions for $15400.

References in the literature include: Bénézit, Vol. VIII, pg. 140. Dictionary of American Painters Sculptors & Engravers, M. Fielding, pg. 538. Dictionary of American Sculptors, Glenn B. Opitz, pg. 228. Dictionary of Women Artists, Petteys, pg. 413. North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century, Heller & Heller, pg. 322. Thieme/Becker: Vol. 21/22, pg. 189. Who Was Who in American Art: Vol. II, pg. 1924. The Life of Anna Coleman Ladd, Seaver Howland Press, 1920, a biography.

NOTES: Sculptor (portrait busts, reliefs, symbolic figures, fountains, soldier’s monuments) from Boston but lived much of her life abroad. Her husband Maynard Ladd, a Boston physician, was in charge of the American Red Cross hospital near Toul, France, during World War I. Anna Ladd founded the American Red Cross Studio of Portrait Masks, France 1917-19, to make portrait masks for mutilated soldiers.

This Anna Ladd bronze of Charles Lindberg was sold by Skinners and one of Amelia Earhart also by Anna Ladd was sold by Barringtons' Auctions in November 2007. Anna Ladd studied drawings and sculpture with Bela Pratt and Charles Grafly and in Paris and Rome with Rodin, Ettore Ferrari, and Emilio Gallori.

Anna Ladd received the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and the Serbian Order of Saint Sava. She was the author of "Hieronymus Rides" and "The Candid Adventurer".

She was a member of various Societies, including: American Federation of Arts; Art Institute of Chicago; Boston Guild of Artists; Concord Art Assn.; Copley Society, Boston; National Academy of Design; National Sculpture Society, NYC; North Shore Arts Assn; San Diego Arts Assn. Museums: Borghese Collection and Farnese Collection, both Rome; Boston Art Museum; Gardner Collection, Boston; Blanden Memorial Art Gallery, Fort Dodge, Iowa; Rhode Island School of Design.

This plaque titled "Coup" was sold by Skinners in September 2007 for $4250, compared to a pre sale estimate of $8,000/$12,000. It was inscribed "AC Ladd sc.t ff angel 1924" l.l., stamped "IDEAL CASTING CO.PROV. R.I." and was a bronze relief with a red patina, 35ins by x 42.5ins.

Public Works: Boston Public Gardens, "Fountain of Youth", Memorials, Hamilton, Beverly Farms, Manchester Library, Widener Library, Harvard, Brookline, all in Mass; Brookline and Grand Rapids, Mich.; South Bend, IN.; Fort Dodge, Iowa; Torresdale, PA; Brookgreen Gardens, S.C.

Exhibitions: : actively from 1907 with solo shows in 1913 at Gorham Gallery, NYC, Corcoran Gallery, Wash. D.C., and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; Art Institute of Chicago, 1907-16; National Academy of Design, 6 annuals,1908-28; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annuals, 1908-12, 1916-17, 1920-27; Salon de Soc. Nat. des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1913; Espos. Intern. Della Secessione, Rome, 1914; Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, Hon. Mention, 1915; National Sculpture Society, 1923; International Exposition, Philadelphia, 1926; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1929; Address in 1933, at the Boston Art Museum; Golden Gate Exposition, 1939.

None of the above bronzes are in this collection, but in November and December 2007, two bronzes by Anna Coleman Watts Ladd have been acquired for this collection.

The larger is 50cm x 20cm and is of a nymph holding aloft a bowl inscribed on the lower side; "After Arretine bowl made in the 1st century BC". The base of the nymph is inscribed "A C Ladd". Recently, a second example of the bowl has been acquired. It is identical in size and design, but has a reddish copper toned finish, instead of the bronze green.

Arretine ware is a type of fine Roman pottery coated in a red slip dating to the first centuries AD and BC. It originated in Arretium, the modern day town of Arezzo in Tuscany. Arretine ware vessels were often made from moulds in order to imitate more expensive metal items. Although intended for the markets in Rome the style was popular and soon spread across the empire and beyond. By the end of the first century AD it had been superseded by the easier to manufacture Samian ware.

Thus, interestingly, whereas Arretine ware was pottery made to imitate metal items, Anna Ladd sculpted her bowl in metal to imitate pottery!

The smaller is untitled, but a reference has been seen to a work by Anna Ladd titled "The Munitions Worker" and this may be that work. It is 23cm x 17cm and is signed "A C Ladd Paris 1918".

The plaque depicts a female munitions worker in the foreground working at a lathe, and in the background three French soldiers marching towards a mother and child.

This bronze obviously dates from Ladd's time in Paris during World War I, when she was assisting her husband to make facial masks for soldiers as shown above, whose faces were disfigured by wounds during the war.

Few people realise that Anna Coleman Ladd also wrote two fiction books.

A copy of "Hieronymous Rides" published in 1912 has been obtained for this collection. It is sub-titled "Episodes in the Life of a Knight and Jester at the Court of Maximillian, King of the Romans."

The other book was published in 1913 and is titled "The Candid Adventurer". Both books attracted good reviews and so it appears Ladd could have been a successful author.

See THE ARTISTIC TEMPERAMENT; THE CANDID ADVENTURER. By Anna Coleman ...

It was perhaps the outbreak of World War I in 1914 that redirected her attentions. 666b, 1290, 1294.

Coolidge, B - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "B Coolidge" for Bertha Coolidge (1880-1953) who worked in New York and Boston.

There were several people named Bertha Coolidge, but she is thought to be the Bertha Coolidge born in Lynn MA on Aug 28, 1880, the elder daughter of a Boston merchant Albert Leighton Coolidge (16 Jun 1832-<1900) and his wife Elizabeth E Wiggin (Oct 1851-?) who were married on 20 Aug 1879 in Boston when Albert was aged 47.

There is a book "Kate Douglas Wiggin As Her Sister Knew Her" by Nora Archibald Smith, which has a miniature of Kate Douglas Wiggin by Bertha Coolidge as a frontispiece. Presumably Kate was related to Bertha's mother. Kate Douglas Wiggin was a noted author who lead the kindergarten education movement in the United States. She also wrote children's books including "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1903).

It seems likely Elizabeth was Albert's second wife as there is also a record of Albert L Coolidge marrying Mary A Buttrick in Boston on 16 Jan 1856. Bertha made many trans-Atlantic crossings, the earliest at age 5 with her parents, but more after World War I. Perhaps it was a way to mix and attract potential new clients.

There are references to Coolidge's exhibited work at AMERICANS AT BIG SALON.; Unusually Large Number of Paintings by ... and at Exhibition of Miniatures at the Academy; ART AT HOME AND ABROAD and there are miniatures by her in the Metropolitan Museum and MFA Boston.

The MFA collection in Boston includes a miniature portrait of Bertha Coolidge painted in 1911 by Laura Coombs Hills, see Bertha Coolidge 573

Davis & Sanford - portrait of a lady

2006-04-10T00:11:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "Davis & Sanford", which is probably means the artist worked for Davis & Sanford". 588

Cope, M F -portrait of a man

2006-04-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "M F Cope". The sitter is unknown. 183

Cope, M F - portrait of a man

2006-04-10T00:06:00.000-07:00

Although this portrait of an unknown man is unsigned, it was purchsed together with the adjacent portrait which is signed "M F Cope" and is therefore attributed to the same artist. 182

Decker, Effie Bennet - portrait of a child

2006-04-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "E B D" for Effie Bennet Decker (1869-1936) . She worked in Washington DC. The sitter is unknown. 546

Deane, Lillian Reubena - portrait of herself

2006-04-09T23:57:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is inscribed on the reverse as being a self portrait. It is signed "Reubena Deane 1900". Lillian Reubena Deane (24 Sep 1880-24 Jun 1972) was born in Chicago and also worked in Los Angeles.

In the 1910 census Lillian described herself as an artist and was living in Chicago with her widowed mother Mary Deane (29 Nov 1848-25 Aug 1945) aged 61, and a lady who seems to be her mother's step-sister Sarah E Deacon aged 69.

By the 1920 census the three of them had moved to Los Angeles, but in the 1930 census Sarah appears to have died and Lillian now called herself L Reubena Deane, artist. 1034

Deane, Lillian Reubena - portrait of Isobella Mendez

2006-04-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "L Reubena Deane 1929" for Lillian Reubena Deane (1881-1966).

The previous owner purchased the portrait at an estate sale of the John Leh family. The family owned Leh's Department Store in Allentown Pa. Eleanor Bear, referred in the following inscription on the reverse, married into the Leh family.

The inscription reads "Isobella Mendez / Hollywood 1930 portrait on ivory / Lillian Reubena Deane / with many loving wishes to Eleanor Bear from "Miss Ruby" ". Nothing further is known about Isobella Mendez.

This collection includes a miniature self portrait by Lillian Reubena Deane and also a portrait of Meliza Korjus. 1033.

Dix, Eulabee - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Dix" for Eulabee Dix (1879-1961). There is a very good biography of her life called "Looking for Eulabee Dix" by Jo Ann Ridley. The sitter is unknown. As part of the packing in this miniature, there is a trade card which reads 'Announcing an exhibition of Miniatures and Roses by Eulabee Dix - May 22nd to June 3rd 1939 Delphic Studios 56th Street New York City". 1031a

Dix, Eulabee (?) -portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is unsigned, but is possibly by Eulabee Dix, as it is similar in style to her other work. The sitter is unknown. 1091

Duvall, Fannie - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "F E Duvall" for Fannie Eliza Duvall (1861-1934). The sitter is unknown. 910

Fox, C J - portrait of a 20C man

2006-04-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "C J Fox". Fox worked for the State Department and painted portraits of many prominent families. 718

Frank, C J - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

The signature on this miniature portrait of an unknown lady is indistinct, but appears to be "C J Frank". 344

Gallegos, Luna - self-portrait

2006-04-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Luna" for Luna Alston de Gallegos (1881-1978), a miniature painter from Argentina.

The portrait is one of a group of five of members of her family which are part of this collection, but when purchased the sitter was unidentified.

However, by a unique chance a miniature of her painted by Walter Ferris Biggs and dated 1900 was purchased about four years later and the close likeness with this image shows that this miniature by Luna is in fact a self-portrait by her.

Luna Alston de Gallegos was born in Buenos Aires in 1881, the daughter Dr John Alston, a Scottish doctor who came to Argentina in 1868, and of Carlota Luna, from Uruguay. She received lessons from Walter Biggs and she specialized in miniatures.

During the early part of her career, she had her first exhibition which was in 1916 together with her teacher, Walter Ferris Biggs, and another artist.

In 1929 she had another solo exhibition, by which time her work was well known. Luna is possibly the best miniature painter to come from Argentina. Her work includes miniature paintings of flowers.

She painted nearly four hundred miniatures during her long career and almost all are signed Luna. Those in this collection are all of her family members.

Luna Alston de Gallegos died in Buenos Aires, July 29, 1978, only three years short of reaching her 100th birthday. 523

For other portraits by Luna see;

Two portraits of her grandson; View and View

A portrait of Miguel Alston; View

Another family member; View

Much later, in 2011 - By an even more amazing chance, a further self-portrait of Luna has been acquired for the collection. On the obverse it is inscribed "Luna 1914" and on the reverse it is inscribed " Luna Alston de Gallegos painted by Luna June 1914". It therefore represents her at 33 years of age.

She still has her hair with a central parting, but is now wearing it shorter, and presumably is by now married. Her work is quite distinctive, and she was a very fine artist who deserves more recognition.

There are a number of portraits associated with Luna now in the collection. Although she lived and worked in Argentina, the portraits were all acquired in USA, so it seems likely her descendants moved to USA and then disposed of the miniatures. 1404

Gallegos, Luna - portrait of her grandson

2006-04-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Luna 1936" for Luna Alston de Gallegos (1881-1978) a miniature painter from Argentina. The portrait is one of five of members of her family. The sitter is believed to be the same person as the sitter in the 1950 portrait and the son of the sitter in the 1928 portrait. 742

Gallegos, Luna - portrait of her grandson

2006-04-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Luna 1950" for an artist from Argentina called Luna Alston de Gallegos (1881-1978). It is one of five adjacent portraits of members of her family and, although unidentified, he is probably her gandson and the son of the man in the 1928 portrait. He is also quite likely the same person as the child in the adjacent portrait signed "Luna 1936". 522

Gallegos, Luna - portrait of Miguel Alston

2006-04-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Luna 1928" for Luna Alston de Gallegos (1881-1978) an artist from Argentina. It one of five portraits of members of her family and this one seem most likely to be her son. It is inscribed on the reverse "Miguel Gallegos Alston". He is probably the father of the person in the two adjacent portraits dated 1936 and 1950. This opinion is also supported in that Miguel and the sitter in the 1950 portrait are both wearing the same tie pin, a large pearl. 518.

Gallegos, Luna - portrait of a family member

2006-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait signed "Luna 1907" is one of five adjacent portraits of members of her family. Luna Alston de Gallegos (1881-1978) was a miniature painter from Argentina.

As the sitter is not looking at the artist, it is most likely another self-portrait. The age of 26 looks right and for a self-portrait, the artist needs to look sideways into a mirror, away from the artist, to be able to paint a self-portrait. With the portraits of her family members in this collection, they are looking direct at the artist. 584

Hartman, M - portrait of a man

2006-04-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown man is signed "M Hartman". The leather case is also marked in gilt letters M Hartman New York.

Nothing more is known about the artist, but in 2004 the Metropolitan Museum in New York used its Dale T Johnson Fund to purchase a miniature portrait by this artist".

The sitter is unknown. 1099

Herman, W S - portrait of a 20C lady

2006-04-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "W S Herman", but nothing more is known about the artist. 1012

Harger, Jessie - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "J C Harger 1912" for Jessie C Harger of New Haven CT. who was active around this time. 1070

Horton, Harriet - portrait of Anna Helen Garth Goodlett

2006-04-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

These three miniature portraits are an interesting example of how a simple detail about one miniature can bring forgotten sitters "back to life". The only information on these miniatures about any of the sitters is the inscription on the reverse of the young man, John David Garth. The seller of the miniatures was only able to add that they had come in 2004 from a Dallas, Texas estate of a lady named Chris Etenger (or Etinger) who had died a couple of year earlier. Research has indicated that the most likely person to fit this description is either Kristin Ettinger of Marshall, Texas or Christine Ann Ettinger (23 Mar 1951-2002) of Minnesota who died 20 Oct 2002, but neither has yet been linked to the miniatures.

Initially, it was thought the two portraits by Horton were the parents of John David Garth, but now it has been concluded the one of the lady is in fact his sister, with the man being his father. From the information researched and now summarised here, a poignant story has been pieced together.

Helen Kercheval Garth was married to John Houston Garth and had two children, Anna Helen Garth born in 1863 and John David Garth born in 1874. John David Garth died in his prime, at age 21 in 1895, and as a memorial keepsake his parents arranged for a photograph of him to be sent to Otto Eckardt of Dresden, Germany. Thus in 1899 Eckardt painted the miniature here of John David Garth.

But in 1899, John Houston Garth also died. His wife Helen then must have wished to have a memorial miniature painted of him also. Thus around 1900 she arranged for Harriet Hutchinson Horton to paint the miniature of John Houston Garth. Judging by the appearance of the miniature, it was a copy of a large oil portrait of John Huston Garth.
At the same time, Helen must have feared the loss of her daughter as well. Thus the artist was asked to also paint a miniature of Anna H Garth who had married Robert Goodlett, which is apparently based upon a photograph of her in mourning attire. In 1900 Anna would have been 37 which fits with the age of the sitter date at this miniature would have been painted.

Having lost both her husband and her son in a short space of time, in 1900 Helen Kercheval Garth and her daughter, Anna Garth Goodlett donated $25,000 to build the John Garth Memorial Library in Hannibal, Mo with the dedication stone appearing here. Helen lived as a widow in Hannibal for at least another 20 years.
Thus this miniature portrait of Anna Helen Garth Goodlett (1863-?) is signed "Horton" for Harriet Hutchinson Horton (1864-1922). Anna Helen Garth was the daughter of John Houston Garth in the adjacent portrait also by Harriet Hutchinson Horton, and the sister of John David Garth, who appears in the other adjacent portrait by Otto Eckardt.

At the death of Harriet Horton in 1922, the Minneapolis Journal described her as one of the most notable portrait painters of the region and reported; "Mrs Horton was also noted for her miniatures. Of her work in this field Anne Lyle Booth once wrote "Her miniatures are distinguished by a gem like brilliance, a cameo delicacy of detail and great accuracy as to likenesses. Her portraits, of children have all of the engaging charm of childhood and a daintiness of color and method that seems especially well suited to the delicate tints and textures of soft young flesh." "

Harriet Horton was born at Prescott, Wisconsin and at the time of her death she lived at Bald Eagle, Minn. In 1910 she had lived in Ramsey, Minnisota with her husband Floyd W Horton (1859-?) and in that census they both described themselves as portrait artists. They had married in 1887.

A kind visitor has informed me that Harriet was the artist and Floyd was the owner of the Horton Studio and so was her manager etc. The MN Historical Society has a number of Harriet's paintings which ended up there after her death, where they are miss-attributed to Floyd. I am advised Floyd was not credited by the family as being an artist, and his own Granddaughter was very adamant that he was not. The visitor has seen a number of portraits by Harriet and they are all signed in red.

However, commissions must have declined, as in the 1920 census Floyd described himself as a salesman and Harriet gave no occupation. Few portraits by them have been located, but there is a copy of a 1892 oil portrait of Andrew Taylor Still by Floyd W Horton on the cover of the 2003 Annual Report of the A T Still University of Health Sciences.

Helen Kercheval was born Jul 18 1840 in Hannibal, Mo where her father William B Kercheval was a trader. Helen married John Houston Garth around 1860. There are conflicting records as to whether Helen's mother Ann Kercheval was born in either Bohemia in 1822, or Virginia in 1814. However, it maybe that her father remarried, with both wives named Ann.

In 1900 Helen lived in Clay, Ralls, Mo. It appears she lost both her husband and her son shortly before 1900, as in the 1900 census she stated she was a widow, with only one living child out of two births. Her surviving child was Anna Helen Garth (Apr 1863-?) who had married Robert M Goodlett (Nov 1859-?) of Kentucky, a provisions broker.

In the 1900 census, Helen described her occupation as "capitalist". Judging by comments on other Internet sources, she chose this description as she had taken over the running of her husband's business interests after his death. Helen's widowed mother Annie Kercheval was living with her in 1900, as was a young boy, John Garth Goodlett (Jun 1893-?) who was her daughter's son. There were also three servants living in the house; a cook, housemaid, and coachman.

As an indication of how census records can be in error, John Garth Goodlett is recorded in the 1900 census twice, once at his parent's home and once at his grandmother's home. Presumably he was staying overnight with his grandmother on census night.

There is an interesting account by a visit of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) to Helen's home in 1902 at A Curious Encounter (1995) by Athan Y. Chilton

The John Garth Memorial Library in Hannibal, Mo was commissioned by Helen Garth as a memorial to her husband, John Houston Garth (1838-1899), but probably in her own mind, also to her son, John David Garth (1874-1895) as it was opened in 1902, see about the library 951 b

Horton, Harriet - portrait of John Houston Garth

2006-04-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Horton" for Harriet Hutchinson Horton (1864-1922). The portrait is of Mr John Houston Garth (1838-1899),

John Garth was a very wealthy businessman who founded the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Hannibal and was its first president. He owned Garth Tobacco and also had interests in lumber and cement. For more about him see Missouri Bed and Breakfast, Garth Woodside Mansion in Hannibal, MO

As mentioned in the descriptions of the adjacent miniatures, his wife and daughter donated $25,000 to pay for the John Houston Garth Memorial Library in Hannibal, Mo.

The Farmers and Merchants Bank in Hannibal appears to still be in existence and was the subject of an armed robbery as recently as November 2006, see Federal Bureau of Investigation - St Louis Field Division - Press ...

It is still possible to stay at the Garth home shown here. For more details visit Garth Woodside Mansion in Hannibal, Mo. 951a

Eckardt, Otto - portrait of John David Garth

2006-04-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Otto Eckardt Dresden 1899" for the German artist Otto Eckardt, but it is part of a family trio of portraits, the other two being the adjacent portraits by Harriet Hutchinson Horton of his father John Houston Garth and his sister Anna Garth Goodlett.

Otto Eckardt worked in Dresden, Germany but he painted a number of portraits of American sitters. It is probable that a photograph was sent to him to copy, although another possibility is that Helen, John's mother took a photo to Europe to be copied around 1899, as there are records of her travelling to Europe around 1913/14 and she may have been there on a previous occasion.

The rear of the case is engraved "John David Garth - June 2nd 1874 - Aug 12th 1895", thus it appears it is a mourning portrait to commemorate his life.

Also shown here is a post card of the John Garth Memorial Library in Hannibal, Missouri which was completed in 1902. It was a memorial to his father John Houston Garth, but perhaps also to John David Garth as well, see about the library.

The library has recently been restored and photos of the restoration can be seen at River City Restorations, Inc. Hannibal, MO: Garth Memorial Library 951c

Larsh, Theodora - portraits of herself and her husband

2006-04-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

These two miniature portraits are part of a group of six miniatures by Theodora Larsh. They were acquired in two groups of three, in both instances from previous owners who had purchased them at the time of a sale of items from her studio.

The first miniature is a self portrait by Theodora Larsh (11 Oct 1887-1955) and the second miniature is of her husband, Francis Dane Chase (1873-?). The self portrait is signed "Theodora Larsh NY 1929".

Research, including a hint from a kind visitor to the website, has revealed more about her. A clue to finding out more was that a Theodora Larsh arrived by ship in New York in 1913, aged 26 and gave her birthplace as Crawfordsville, Indiana.

For the 1900 census she was living with her parents John and Elizabeth Larsh in Chicago, where her father was a contractor. In 1910 she was living as a lodger in Chicago and gave her occupation as artist. For the 1930 census she was living alone as an artist in New York and stated her age as 42, also stating she had first married at age 32 (i.e. in 1920). From the comments below, it appears her marriage to Francis Dane Chase was late in 1920.

Her father died in 1932 as indicated in this June 11, 1932 obituary from the Crawfordsville Journal. "Mrs. Mary Stubbins, S. Grant Ave received a message Saturday morning from Babylon NY informing her of the death of her brother John M. Larsh that occurred in that city on Friday afternoon at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Theodora Larsh Chase. Mr. Larsh was born in Montgomery County on April 16, 1852 son of Tolliver and Jane Gilkey Larsh, pioneer residents of Ripley Twp. Mr. Larsh lived in Crawfordsville for many years and was associated with the hardware firm of Tinsley & Martin."

Theodora Larsh was a member of the prestigious Art Students League of New York and the Art Students League of Chicago, as well as the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptures. She was awarded the Griffith prize for miniatures in 1926 and served for some time as the Director of the New York League of Business and Professional Women. For more about her, see Reviving the story behind an image from the past

Theodora (also known as Teddy) became the second wife of Francis Dane Chase (1873-?) and as seen in the portrait here. His first wife was Edna Woolman Chase (1877-1957) Editor in Chief of Vogue magazine from 1914-1952, see Edna Woolman Chase - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and their daughter was Ilka Chase (1900-1978) the American actress and novelist see Ilka Chase - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia So far no record has been located of Theodora having had any children.

In 1920, Francis Dane Chase was the General Manager of the Hotel Colonial on West 81st Street, New York. However, rather than describing himself as divorced in 1920, he stated he was a widower. Thus it appears he was not married to Theodora at the date of the 1920 census. 1247, 1249

Larsh, Theodora - portraits of a baby and a young lady

2006-04-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

The miniature portrait of an unknown baby by Theodora Larsh was acquired together with her adjacent self portrait and also that of her husband. It is unsigned, but shows her considerable skill as an artist.

The second miniature portrait of an unknown lady is also unsigned, but it came along with the adjacent miniatures of two young men, from a sale of items from the studio of Theodora Larsh (11 Oct 1887-1955).

For more about her see the adjacent self portrait miniature. 593, 1248

Larsh, Theodora - portraits of two young men

2006-04-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

Theodora Larsh (1887-1955) worked in New York and one of these two miniature portraits of unknown young men is signed "Theodora Larsh". Her life is discussed in more detail in the adjacent portraits by her.

Although the second miniature portrait of a young man is unsigned, both these two came, together with the miniature portrait of a young lady in orange, from a sale of items from the studio of Theodora Larsh (1887-1955).

Based upon a comparison with the miniature of her husband, Francis Dane Chase which is in this collection, it is possible that either one or both of these portraits are also of Francis Dane Chase, as a younger man. 595, 596

Mackubin, Florence - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T00:59:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Florence Mackubin after Chartran". Florence Mackubin (1866-1918) worked in several different cities. See Annapolis Collection - Florence Mackubin for some examples of her large portraits.

She had studied art in Fontainebleau, in Munich, and in Paris. She was commissioned by the State of Maryland to copy the portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria, for whom Maryland was named and her copy now hangs in the Annapolis State House. There are numerous Internet references to her work.

MacKubin specialized in portraits (miniatures, pastels, and oil) of governors, government officials, and socially prominent women. At the 1893 Exposition, she exhibited 58 pastels and won a Bronze Medal. She also visited Europe on several occasions and her return is noted in New York arrival records dated; 21 Jun 1876, 22 Jun 1891, 12 Dec 1892, and 21 Nov 1903. The 1910/1911 Who's Who stated she was born in Florence, Italy of American parents and in 1911 was living in Canada ar St Andrews, New Brunswick.

The reference to Chartran, is to Theobold Chartran (1849-1907) who was a noted French portrait painter of the period. Chartran visited the United States on several occasions, as shown in New York arrival records dated 14 Nov 1896, 18 Jan 1904, and 15 Jan 1906. It is probable these visits were to undertake painting commissions. For more about him, see Theobald Chartran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At the time, it was not uncommon for the owner of a large portrait to commission a miniature copy of it. This is most likely the case here, but the whereabouts of the large portrait and the name of the sitter are both unknown. 680

E W M - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

The painter of this miniature has signed it "E W M", but it is not known who that is. The sitter is not known. 722

Myers, Jessie - portrait of lady

2006-04-09T00:52:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "J C Myers" for Jessie C Myers (1861-1934). The reverse of the portrait is inscribed "Painted by Jessie C Myers, Rochester NY, San Diego Caifornia". 1017

Newell, Claude Potter - portrait of a 20C lady

2006-04-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "C P Newell 1918". Researching the artist C P Newell, has not been easy, but he has now been identified as Claude Potter Newell (1870->1930), born 10 Oct 1870 in Providence RI, son of Doctor Timothy Newell of Massachusetts (Mar 1820-30 Jun 1901), (but who, according to the 1900 census, was born in Sep 1817), and Annie Potter Smith (Jan 1844->1920) (but born as Annie Potter Bates) who were married on 9 Sep 1867. Thus Claude's father was aged around 50 when he was married.

Claude Newell has been traced through the census records. In 1900 he was an artist living with his parents in Providence RI. In 1910 (MS) and 1920 (NY) he was married and also describes himself as artist. Presumably he was successful, as both times he had a live in servant. However, for the 1930 census (RI), he described himself as "commercial traveller - movie films".

It seems he was married twice, as in 1910 his wife was named Anna L Newell (1875-?) born in Massachusetts, whereas in 1920/1930 his wife was named Margaret born in Canada, but with conflicting birth dates of 1892 and 1882. Her birthplace of Canada fits with frequent visits of C P Newell to Canada. There do not appear to have been any children.

Although omitted from the reference books, Claude P Newell was obviously a highly regarded artist of the time, as in 1915 Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt sat for their tenth wedding anniversary miniature portraits, see Hyde Park: Tenth wedding anniversary portraits (1915) of Eleanor & Franklin by Claude P. Newell in Presidential Museum.

The sitter in this portrait is unknown. 1027

Newell, Claude Potter - portrait of a child

2006-04-09T00:36:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "C P Newell 1916" for Claude Potter Newell. For more about him see the adjacent miniature.

The sitter is unknown. 601

Paynter, W B - portrait of a man

2006-04-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "W B Paynter", but the sitter is unknown. 599

Pew, Gertrude - portrait of 20C lady

2006-04-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed "Gertrude L Pew".

Gertrude L Pew (Mar 1876-28 Jun 1949) was born in Niles, Trumbull, Ohio and she worked and died in NYC. She was the daughter of Horace Pew (1828-1890) and Mary Elizabeth Tucker (1843-c1900).

In the 1880 census, Horace was a farmer aged 52 and Mary was then 37. They had three children at that time and later another one named Grace, but she died young.

Mary is believed to have been married before, but her husband was killed in the Civil War when she was only 17. Mary was a professional portrait painter of recognized talent in Youngstown, Ohio

Mary seems to have been the second wife of Horace, as living in the same general area in the 1850 census there is a farmer named Horace Pew aged 24, who was married to Nancy Pew aged 25.

Gertrude Pew trained at the Cleveland School of Art, the New York Academy of Design and in Paris.

For the 1900 census, Gertrude Pew was living in Manhattan, NY with her brother Marlen Pew (Jun 1878-15 Oct 1936) who was an editor and her sister Mildred M Pew (Feb 1880->1949) who was a student. Gertrude described herself as an artist.

The three siblings must have been close, as in August 1902 the three of them holidayed together at Delaware Gap, see Delaware Water Gap; Visitors Still So Numerous That Hotels Are ...

In 1910 they still lived together, although in the census they were recorded as lodging in Boston. However, they may have been there on holiday. Marlen was a newspaper editor and Gertrude described herself as having an artist's studio. Mildred gave no occupation.

It is understood that Marlen sent his two sisters to Europe around 1910 where Gertrude studied in Paris and graduated from the “Paris School of Painting”. It seem it was after the 1910 census that Gertrude and Mildred went to Europe, but they were not away long as they returned on SS Finland on 20 Sep 1910.

In the New York Times of 31 Mar 1918 there is a favorable review of Gertrude's miniature of a lady named Marine Poole, see Figure Subjects and Miniatures at Academy; Art at Home and Abroad ...

In 1920 Gertrude, still an artist, and Mildred, now a neighbourhood nurse, had moved back to New York and were living together.

References record that Gertrude Pew married Frederick G Robinson (?->1949). This must have been after 1920, when she was aged 44. Thus it is probably unlikely she had any children.

Gertrude continued to use her maiden name for her work, as at the 1933 National Miniature Exhibition she exhibited two works under the name Gertrude L Pew from her address at 914 Carnegie Hall, NYC. Presumably this is where her studio was. They were of "Mr William Rockefeller" and "The Young Painter".

A daughter of Marlen Pew recollected that Gertrude restored the Andrew Mellon (or possibly the J Pierpont Morgan) collection of miniatures, presumably after returning from Paris. It is not known if a Mellon collection is still together, but the J Pierpont Morgan Collection was sold many years ago.

She also painted many famous Americans, including President Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Mellon, J Pierpont Morgan, and Mrs John D Rockefeller .

The sitter in the miniature shown here is unknown.

Gertrude painted other art, rather than just miniatures. In 2006 this portrait of a lady was auctioned. It was described as:

"GERTRUDE L. PEW (Mrs. Frederic G. Robinson) (American b.1876) "A Victorian Beauty" watercolor on paper.

Illustration for a postcard, signed "G.L. Pew, N.Y. 1902" left center. 11"x14" oval. Lot is accompanied by 3 similar postcards of young women, signed G.L. Pew NY."

The estimate was $1,000-$1,500 and the lot sold for $850.

There is another portrait by Gertrude Pew at Mystic Seaport - Searching Objects

Although no picture is available, it is described as: "Watercolor, full-length portrait of Miss Charlotte Rogers Greenman (1/20/1820-5/19/1879), wife of Thomas Stillman Greenman; wearing a pale gold gown with lace-trimmed white collar. Elaborate sleeves are also trimmed with white lace. Medium is gouache with evidence of watercolor base. Artist: Gertrude L. Pew."

In 2005 this painting of a Mallard duck was auctioned by Elders Antiques.

It was described as: "Gertrude L. Pew, American, born 1876, Springing Mallard, Oil on Canvas. Label on verso: Springville High Art Association, Titled Springing Mallard. Weight: 5 1/4 lbs. Measurements: 26 3/4 x 21 1/2 in."

Inclusive of buyer's premium, the painting sold for $680.

The label on the reverse of the large painting confirms the location of her studio as being at 914 Carnegie Hall.

At the same auction this miniature on ivory of two ducks was sold for $455.

It was described as: "Gertrude L. Pew, American, born 1876, Miniature Oil on Ivory. Signed lower right. Measurements: Sight Size: 2 7/8 x 4 1/2 in."

On the reverse was written, "Gertrud (sic) Pue (sic) Robinson".

The New York Times of 29 Jun 1949 carried her obituary. 423

Purdy, Maud - portrait of 20C lady

2006-04-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Maud H Purdy 1907". Maud H Purdy (1873- ?) was a noted botanical illustrator and the Illustrated Guide to Trees and Shrubs: A Handbook of the Woody Plants of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada contains 300 illustrations by her. The sitter is unknown. 527

Quivey, Claude - portrait of Mrs John Duncan

2006-04-09T00:24:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Quivey 1915" for Claude E Quivey (1871-1943). The sitter is Mrs John D Duncan. 848

Quivey, Claude - portrait of Spaulding child

2006-04-09T00:21:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Quivey 1921" for Claude Quivey. The father of the child was William Spaulding of Boston, who was a philanthropist. 917

Quivey, Claude - portrait of a lady

2006-04-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Quivey" for Claude Quivey (1871-1943). He was born in Indiana and worked in Caifornia. The miniature is large (150 mm x 110 mm) and extremely well painted.

The portrait was acquired from a person who had received this portrait and the two portraits of Marvel Prescott, direct from Marvel, who was one of Claude Quivey's two daughters. A friend of Marvel has advised that Claude painted the faces on his miniature portraits and his wife, Adda painted the clothes and backgrounds.

Correspondence with a member of the Quivey family suggested that the portrait is of Claude's wife Adda B Quivey, but later advice is that this may not be the case. However, it does seems likely that he took more care with this portrait than any of his other work and it is possibly his best ever work.

In the 1900 census (in one family history site mistakenly transcribed as Claude E Aimey) records him as living as a lodger in Oakland, his occupation as artist, and gives his date of birth as April 1871.

Claude Quivey must have worked in the Northeast USA for a while, as the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette of July 1 1916 commented, "Claude Quivey and family of California are visiting in this city at the home of his mother, Mrs Quivey. Mr Quivey is moving his family to New York".

The Feb 13, 1943 edition of the LA Times contained a death notice as follows; "Quivey, Claude E beloved husband of Adda B Quivey, father of Mrs Marvel Prescott and Mrs Gloria Tooke, brother of Mrs Mary Gregory." 559

Quivey, Claude - portrait of Marvel Prescott

2006-04-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed "Quivey" for Claude Quivey. It was acquired together with the other portrait of Marvel and the one of Adda B Quivey from a person who was a good friend of Marvel.

In the 1910 cenus, Claude and Adda Quivey (in one family history site the census record for Quivey is mistakenly transcribed as Auiry) are recorded as living with two daughters; one Grace aged 4 born in Colorado and the other appears to read Maud aged 2 born in California. It appears that Grace later adopted the name Gloria and Maud became Marvel. In that census record Claude gives his occupation as "Artist - portraits and nature".

Marvel initially started a career as an actress, but later married a mining engineer. Social Security death records indicate she was born 10 Aug 1907 and died Nov 1974 in Los Angles. 672a

Quivey, Claude - portrait of Marvel Prescott

2006-04-09T00:11:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Quivey" for Claude Quivey. As mentioned in the adjacent portrait, the portrait is of his daughter Marvel Prescott, who was an actress. As she was born in 1907, it would seem this portrait was painted around 1930.

The two portraits of Marvel appear to have been painted at the time she was an aspiring actress, as they have the look of being portraits of an actress. 672b

Ramsier, John - portrait of Mr A G Clark

2006-04-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "J Ramsier" for John Ramsier (1861-1936), a Kentucky artist noted for his photographic style. Miniaturist John Ramsier worked in Louisville in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Swiss immigrant came to America in 1883, working for several photographic studios in New Albany, Indiana, and Louisville.

Ramsier established his own studio in 1893, but a fire put an end to the business. Ramsier, who had trained as a photographer and worked as a tinter of photographs, decided to specialize in miniatures. His clientele was international.

He was especially renowned for copying older works into the miniature format. One of the more famous examples of such work is "Mrs. Henrietta Hunt Morgan and John Hunt Morgan," which is owned by the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation in Lexington, Kentucky.

According to the Jones and Weber exhibition catalog, "The Kentucky Painter from the Frontier Era to the Great War," it is estimated that Ramsier executed over 3,000 "likenesses" in his 33-year career. Ramsier's papers reside at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky.

The sitter is Mr A G Clark (or A J Clark) of Louisville and the miniature was previously owned by Mrs W S Fulton, daughter of Mrs Clark. A J Clark is believed to possibly been employed as a superintendent of the Piedmont Coal Company in 1878 and later a director of the Warwick China Company of Wheeling, WV. For more about the family see the adjacent miniature of Nancy McElhenny, also by Ramsier . 1095a

Ramsier, John - portrait of Nancy McElhenny (Mrs A J Clark)

2006-04-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Ramsier" for John Ramsier (1861-1936), a Kentucky artist noted for his ability to paint in a photographic style of painting. The sitter is Mrs A J Clark (or A G Clark) of Louisville and the portrait was previously owned by Mrs W S Fulton, daughter of Mrs Clark.

Mrs Clark was born as Nancy McElhenny on 19 Mar 1845 in Wheeling, WV and was married on 17 Sep 1872 to A J Clark (c1842-?) a lawyer in Wheeling. She was the daughter of Samuel W McElhenny and Martha Jacobs. In the 1910 census she was living as a widow, aged 63, with her son, James M Clark, a lawyer and two servants in Wheeling.

Mrs W S Fulton was the Martha Clark (18 Jun 1873-?) who married Dr W S Fulton (1873-1938). He was a surgeon at the Wheeling Clinic, Wheeling City WV. They were married 23 Oct 1902 and had a daughter, Nancy McElhenny Fulton who was born in 1909.

Dr Fulton was the founder of the Wheeling Clinic and is featured in the Wheeling Hall of Fame, see Wheeling Hall of Fame: Dr. William S. Fulton where there is also a picture of him. 1095a

Rue, M - portrait of 20C lady

2006-04-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

This portrait of an unknown lady is signed "M Rue". 1029

Rue, M - portrait of 20C man

2006-04-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown man is signed "M Rue". 465

Scholtze, Maximiliano - portrait of three children

2006-04-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

This large (165 mm x 115 mm) miniature portrait is signed "Maximiliano Scholtze". The reverse is also signed and there is the address "S. Paulo", so it appears he was from Brazil. The children's identities are unknown. 449

Smith, S W - portrait of a boy

2006-04-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown boy is signed "S W Smith". 391

Smith - portrait of 20C lady

2006-04-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait of an unknown lady is signed "Smith", but there are several artists with that name. 667

Stickney, Lucy - portrait of 20C lady

2006-04-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Lucy May Stickney" (?-1919). She was also known as Lucy Mathewson. The sitter is unknown. 760

Thomas, Louise - portrait of Millie Benson

2006-04-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "Lousie Thomas". The sitter is believed to be Millie Benson". 515

Thomas, Jack - portrait of a lady

2006-04-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

This miniature is signed on the reverse, "Jack Thomas 48 Alcina Ave Toronto On", thus he must have been a Canadian artist. 608

Thompson, N L - portrait of Frances

2006-04-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed "N L Thompson". The full name of the sitter is unknown, but the reverse is engraved "George from Frances July 30th 1902". 608

Tanison - portrait of a man

2006-04-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

This miniature portrait is signed Tansion, but the sitter is unknown.

Trueworthy, J - portrait of a baby

2006-04-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Although the name of the baby is unknown, this miniature portrait is signed by J Trueworthy. 807

Trueworthy, J - portrait of 20C man

2006-04-08T20:26:00.000-07:00

Although this miniature portrait is unsigned, it was purchased along with the adjacent signed portrait by J Trueworthy. The sitter is unknown. 806

Unknown - portrait of a boy

2006-04-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Neither the painter of this miniature portrait, nor the sitter are known. 717

Unknown - portrait of Arledge girl

2006-04-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

The painter of this miniature portrait is not known, but the sitter is a member of the Arledge family. 887

Unknown - portrait of a 20C lady

2006-04-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Neither the artist, nor the sitter in this miniature portrait are known. 556