by Diana Bailey Harris (Author)
An early children's genre painting by Seymour Joseph Guy hangs in the Portland Art Museum. Upon donating the portrait of Adele de la Lanceau, the author resolved to discover more about Adele and learn how the painting made its way to the author's mother. On-line resources like Ancestry.com, census reports, court records, newspaper and military archives revealed the story. Adele's daughter-in-law, Jeannette Murphy, from whom the author's mother inherited the painting, was a well-known supporter of the Brooklyn School for the Blind--as well as Brooklyn Borough Secretary. Emma Bailey, the author's paternal grand- mother, played a key role in the story arc, shielding the author's mother from the sad fate that confronts Adele as the story begins.