Isabella Graham portrait, circa 1842-1880
Permanent ID:
14314
Image Description:
Isabella Graham (1742-1814) was a Scottish-American philanthropist and educator. She had married in 1765 and became an unexpected widow in 1774. She dressed in mourning the rest of her life and never remarried. To support herself, her children, and her elderly father she founded several successful girls’ boarding schools in Scotland. At the age of 56, she retired from teaching and traveled to New York City to become a full-time philanthropist. She became instrumental in the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows, the Orphan Asylum Society, the Society for Promoting Industry among the Poor, and the first Sunday School for Ignorant Adults. She also served as the first President of the Magdalen Society of New York. Frederick Halpin was another English-born engraver from Worcester. He left London for New York City in 1742, where he raised a family in Brooklyn. He was a successful portrait engraver for book publications. It has been suggested that later in his life Halpin became an engraver of confederate stamps in Virginia, but this claim has been contested in recent years. Halpin’s style of portrait engraving is distinctive. He employed stipple, steel-line, and cross hatching together to creating richly-detailed portraits.
Inscription:
Painted by Jarvis / Engd. by F. Halpin
Address:
Philadelphia
Format:
Prints
