Notes
This watercolor was painted by Elizabeth Henry Lyons (1855-1920), sister of Lucy Gray Henry Harrison (1857-1944) and a great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry, in 1905.
The main house is shown with additions built by John Henry (1796-1868), Patrick Henry's son, in 1832-1833, before Lucy Harrison's renovations, which started just after this work was painted. Elizabeth Lyons lived in another house at Red Hill, which burned in 1975.
The work appears in a photograph (2023.24.12) of the law office at Red Hill during Lyons' and Harrison's residency, prior to renovations being carried out on the building.
The work was donated to PHMF in August 2018 by Carolyn Paulette. Paulette purchased the watercolor from Emily Harrison Dabney (1924-2018) in Richmond, who was related to the Henry family through marriage. Emily married Frederick Albert Dabney, Jr. (1920-1992) in 1946; Frederick was a third great-grandson of Patrick Henry.
A handwritten framer's note with measurements for a past picture frame and matte was discovered upon removal from the backing. The note included the name of the client, Elvira "Ella" Henry Miller (1850–1955), who was the great-great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry and died at the age of 105. This helped confirm the provenance of this piece, which Elvira Miller once owned. The husband of the watercolor's last owner, Frederick Dabney Jr., is Elvira Miller's grandnephew.