Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Portrait |
Title |
Laura Estill |
Catalog Number |
1993.11.1 |
Creator |
Saunders, William Carroll |
Date |
ca. 1867 |
Material(s) |
Paint/Canvas |
Dimensions |
H-36 W-31 inches |
Description |
This bust portrait of Laura Estill shows her with her left hand clutching a sheer wrap to her chest and her right hand lying in her lap. She is wearing a red velvet dress that is off the shoulders. There is a wide lace trim at the neckline and along the edges of the short sleeves. She is wearing a white bead or pearl cluster necklace, drop earrings and bracelet. Her dark brown hair is dressed in long curls with a pearl comb holding her hair in place. She has brown eyes. |
Notes |
Laura Estill (1850-1928) was born to Louisa Oldham and Jonathan Estill in Richmond, Kentucky. She is approximately seventeen in this portrait. Her father was a farmer and speculator. Laura was the second wife of Lewis E. Francis. They married in 1874 in Madison County. After the death of her husband in 1892 she lived in Bourbon County. Laura's great-grandfather, James Estill, was an early settler of Madison County, building a fort called Estill Station with his brother. Estill county is named in James' honor. Laura is also the descendant of Captain Robert Rodes who commanded a company of Virginia militia for the defense of the east coast during the American Revolution. Rodes was also an early settler in Kentucky. Attributed to artist William Carroll Saunders (1817-1902). Saunders owned a studio in Mobile, Alabama, in the 1840s. He also studied in Italy, where he served as American Consul to Rome. Saunders returned to the United States in 1852. After the Civil War, Saunders traveled to Madison County to paint members of the Estill family, whose Mississippi relations in the Delta are thought to have provided the contact. Saunders cast the Estill daughters, Lavinia and Laura, as exotic beauties in a high Orientalist style featured in his earlier historical paintings drawn from Judaic and Mediterranean sources. The daughters are lavishly attired and coiffed in ringlets who sinuous texture offsets the harsh allure of their brilliant jewels. The donor, Rose Estill Whalen, was the donor's great-niece. |
Collection |
Wallace and Rose Whalen Collection |
People |
Saunders, William Carroll Estill, Laura |
Subjects |
Portrait paintings Portraits Paintings Painting Women |
Search Terms |
Madison County (Ky.) Portrait Portraits |
Physical Holder |
Kentucky Historical Society - KHS |