Hall, Mary Louise Brown (1860-1932)(3 of 6)
/Crayon Portrait of Mary Louise Brown
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: Sometime between June 5, 1864 and 1866, Bryan R. Johnson created the original carte de visite upon which this crayon portrait is based, and several years later, an unidentified retoucher applied the watercolor, pastel, and chalk embellishments to this enlarged cropped reproduction. Fortunately, the original carte de visite is in this archive and can be viewed below. Additional information about it can be accessed using the link above.
THE SITTER:
Name: Mary Louise Brown Hall. This portrait was taken when the sitter was a child and known by her birth name, Mary Louise Brown.
Back side of Crayon portrait of Mary Louise Brown Hall
Description: In this portrait, Mary Louise Brown stands confidently gazing directly at the viewer, and, although just a child, her self-possession borders on boldness. She places her right hand on the top of a maroon chair, and her left holds a black velvet shawl. She is attired in a checkered print dress with a matching waist belt, drop shoulders, and flounced sleeves trimmed in white lace. At her left shoulder is a curious gold and black ornament attached to the neckline trim of her dress. Serving as a type of feminine epaulette, it falls down her arm along the gathering of her flounced sleeve. Her hair has been center-parted and cut short with wisps surrounding her face. She wears a thin gold chain that falls to just below the neckline of her dress.
Biographical Note: Mary Louise, or Lulu as she was called, was the first of twelve children born to the early Petaluma pioneers, Daniel and Annie Brown. She was born in Petaluma on March 5, 1860, and attended the Brick School and Petaluma High School. Lulu graduated from high school in 1878 along with five other students including her future husband, Gilbert Hall. Two years later on May 29, 1882, Lulu and Gil eloped to Marin County and were married there by a Justice of the Peace. The next day the Brown parents arranged for them to be married in a Catholic ceremony in their home. The Hall couple settled in Petaluma and for a few years resided in Santa Rosa while Gil was acting as Sonoma County Auditor and Recorder. From girlhood and throughout her adult years, Mary Louise was active in St. Vincent Church events. At one time she was photographed driving a horse and buggy down Main Street with a friend while collecting donations for a Catholic fair. The tintype still exists.
The marriage of the Hall couple lasted almost fifty years. Gil died on January 24, 1932, and Mary Louise followed on August 25th of the same year. Five daughters survived the Hall couple, Aletha, Evelyn, Kathleen, Geraldine, and Dorothy; one son died at birth. Gilbert and Mary Louise lived at 325 Post Street in Petaluma and were buried together in Calvary Catholic Cemetery.
*This biographical note was written by Annie Alexis Ferguson Brown’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.
Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42046382/mary-louise-hall Search this archive and the Sonoma County Library photograph archive for additional portraits of the Brown and Hall families.
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier: August 25, 1932, p. 3 (obituary); August 27, 1932, p. 3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: July 29, 1911, p.1; August 28, 1911, p. 5. For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Brown and Hall families, see the Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini Collection at the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum.
THE PHOTOGRAPH: It is of significant note that this crayon portrait is an embellished cropped and enlarged copy of an earlier carte de visite dating between June 5, 1884 and 1886. The original carte de visite is in this archive, and its creator was Bryan R. Johnson. Additionally, this crayon portrait has a companion piece, a matching crayon portrait of Mary Louise Brown Hall’s husband, Gilbert Pine Hall. According to Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, a descendant of Gilbert, the two crayon portraits were commissioned by Mary Louise sometime after her marriage to Gilbert in 1882.
Format / Size: Crayon portrait, 14” x 17”
Medium: A mixture of water color, pastel, and chalk applied on top of a gelatin photographic print
Description, front: The retoucher has added color and texture to this portrait using chalk, pastels, and watercolor. They have skillfully rendered the velvet texture of the maroon chair and black shawl. They have added a whimsical background with fanciful arabesques and striped paneling. The addition of color to the child’s blue eyes, the gold necklace, and the shoulder ornament are also notable.
Description, back: Handwritten in large elaborate cursive is “Hall”.
Date: The original carte de visite that was used to reproduce this crayon portrait was created between June 5, 1864 and 1866 by Bryan R. Johnson (illustrated above). Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, a descendant of Gilbert Pine Hall, reported that this crayon portrait and a companion crayon portrait of Gilbert Pine Hall (Mary Louise Brown Hall’s husband, illustrated below) were commissioned by Mary Louise Brown Hall sometime after her marriage to Gilbert in 1882.
Condition: This crayon portrait is in very good condition.
Owner: Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, from the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, 2024-998-19.
Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced. These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.