Browse Items (2 total)

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  Home of Uzziel and Catharine Stow, 1875
  

  This is a reversed image ca. 1875 of the home of Uzziel and Catharine Stow. Belle Dufour Stepleton (1883-1979) added the penciled caption probably in the 1940s or 1950s. Her son Donald Stpleton (1909-2003) copied Belle's inscription in ink about 50 years later, adding a few more details. Verso reads: "U. H. Stow home at Stowtown (Stow Triangle Area) (home farm). Left to right, girl named Dickason (hired girl), Amanda English, old lady who lived there until her death, [and] who had lived before coming to the Stows with Henry Clay's family in Kentucky. Always wore her bonnet even at dinner, in doorway Catherine Stow (my grandmother), and grandfather (seated) with Cane, Uzziel Stow, neighbor boy, hired man (B.D. Stephen)." The Stow letters occasionally include a greeting to "Manda" or "Mandy," this being Amanda English (1804-1890) who lived permanently with the Stows from at least 1860 on. We know very little about her, other than the fact that she was a seamstress. Willetta Washmuth's memoir includes an amusing anecdote regarding Uzziel and Amanda (Memories, Cotton's Hollow Press, Vevay, Indiana, 1991; pp. 33-34). However, be aware that Mrs. Washmuth (b.1905) had not know the other Stows personally, and in some instances she conflates Jonah and Uzziel Stow, and makes other factual errors. But her tales reflecting the character of Uzziel Stow certainly have a ring of truth. A photo published in Washmuth's memoir (p. 27) shows the house in its 1870 configuration, but from another vantage point.
  
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  Caron's Directory of the City of Louisville Vol. V

  "I paint pictures and exhibit them; and sometimes I sell them."
  -Patty Thum 1879
  
  Thum returned to Louisville and established her first studio in her family's home at Floyd and Jacob Streets. Thum remained single and lived in the family home throughout her life. Her brother Mandeville became a successful doctor and provided a financial safety net for Thum, who found it difficult to earn an income from her art.
  
  When Thum graduated from Vassar, American artists were struggling to make a market for themselves. Collectors were more interested in masterworks and pieces by European avant-garde artists. Thum began showing her work at a variety of national exhibitions to build name recognition.
  
  Thum made and sold work for the commercial market. Capitalizing on the popularity of her flower paintings, she made images that were used as magazine, newspaper, and catalog illustrations.