Edwin Romanzo Elmer was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 portrait, genre and still life painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

. Known for his attention to detail, he was also an inventor of a machine for braiding horsewhips.

Spending most of his life in Ashfield, Massachusetts

Ashfield, Massachusetts

Ashfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,737 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, Elmer is best known for his painting Mourning Picture. This 1890 family portrait depicts the artist, his wife, and their daughter Effie who had died shortly before it was painted. The painting is noted for its intricate detail and the contrast between the mourning family, who sits in relative darkness, and the dead daughter, who is bathed in sunlight. It was first displayed in a local post office in 1890, then disappeared until the 1950’s, when a niece of the artist showed it to the director of the Smith Museum. It was then that Elmer’s talent was first recognized and his paintings put on display.

The poet Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Cecile Rich is an American poet, essayist and feminist. She has been called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century."-Early life:...

 has written a poem about Mourning Picture from the dead daughter’s point of view. The picture now hangs in the Smith College Museum of Art – Northampton, Massachusetts

Northampton, Massachusetts

The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...

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