Henry House

Name/Title

Henry House

Entry/Object ID

2021.23

Description

Watercolor on paper. Rectangular with unevenly cut edges. Landscape watercolor painting of the main house at Red Hill. Signed "E.H. Lyons 1905" in red in bottom left corner. The watercolor shows the main house painted white with a brown roof, D-shaped boxwood garden, and a large tree to the right. Trees and shrubs make up the background. Written in pencil on the reverse: Miss Ella Miller / 314 Harrison- / 2 1/2" White Mat / Flat Gold

Artwork Details

Medium

Paper, Paint, Watercolor Paint

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Lyons, Elizabeth H.

Role

Artist

Notes

Author: Elizabeth H. Lyons

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

Obverse, bottom left corner

Transcription

E.H. Lyons 1905

Language

English

Material/Technique

In Artist's Hand, Painted

Type

Inscription

Location

Reverse, left side

Transcription

Miss Ella Miller 314 Harrison – 2 1/2" ___[?] Mat – 10 Flat ___[?]

Language

English

Material/Technique

Pencil

Dimensions

Width

18-1/2 in

Depth

1-1/2 in

Length

12-1/2 in

Provenance

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 for John Henry (1796–1868), Patrick Henry's son, in 1832–1833, before Lucy Harrison's renovations, which started just after this work was painted. 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. A handwritten framer's note with measurements for a past picture frame and matte includes the name of the client, Elvira "Ella" Henry Miller (1850–1955), a great-great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry. 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. The work was donated to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation 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.