Name/Title
Etta Young McDowellEntry/Object ID
McDowell, Etta YoungDescription
Woman seated in gold upholstered Victorian chair; hands folded in lap and holding a handkerchief- (2/3 figure) There is a table with a vase and flowers on her left, and the background looks like red crushed fabric, possibly draperies.Collection
Private CollectionMade/Created
Artist
Grainger, Mary E. 1880-1963Date made
1953Provenance
Notes
Portrait was donated to Girl Scout Headquarters in Knoxville by family.General Notes
Note
Etta Young was born in 1870 near Clinton, Tennessee to Judge David Young and Elizabeth Woods on Young. She studied art under Lloyd Branson and married James Rhea McDowell in 1900. She was a member of Ossoli Circle and the Nicholson Art League as well as the driving force behind the founding of the Girl Scout movement in Knoxville and East Tennessee, serving as its commissioner for the first two years. She has a close friendship with Mary Utopia Rothrock, the head of Knoxville's Public Library. McDowell died in 1960, and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery.Create Date
September 1, 2026Update Date
September 1, 2026