The Little Colonel - 16x20x1.5 Mixed Media on cradled birch. $350
I found a copy of “The Little Colonel” at an antique store recently. First published in 1895, this is the first in the series of books about Lloyd Sherman, the Little Colonel. The Shirley Temple movie of the same name was based on this story. This edition was printed in 1919, the 33rd edition, and not of much value as an antique book so I used it to make this mixed media piece.
What I fell in love with is the story of the six-year-old girl, Nelle Whitfield Duerson, who received this as a Christmas present in 1919 from “A.R. and Jimmie.” Like the little Colonel, she lived in Kentucky and was the same age. I did some research and found her obituary, which for some reason brought me to tears. She passed away in 2007 at the age of 94 having lived her entire life in Kentucky.