Mrs. Martha Pawley LaBruce, 1766-1822

I copied this portrait from Charles Fraser, who copied his from Samuel Morse. Painted by Morse at the time of her husbands death, Mrs LaBruce wears the black dress of widowhood. Martha Pawley LaBruce came from two families who held sizable land grants on the Waccamaw (near Charleston), dating back to 1733. She was related through the Pawlies to the Mackies and through the LaBruces to the Allstons and so we're distant cousins (through the Alstons)...as is everyone from the south. Completed April 2012. Sold.

Anne Sherman

The original is a hand colored photograph from 1896, called an opalotype. Interestingly, I began handtinting photos some years before I began the white trash series. The first white trash portraits were painted with Marshals photo oils. I still use them sometimes. Not much is known about the sitter here. Finished April 2012. sold