Untitled (portrait of a woman, deceased), a photograph by Rufus W. Holsinger's son, Ralph W. Holsinger, date unknown (but likely 1920s-early 30's).

Photographs were labelled in Holsinger's ledgers by the name of the person whom paid for the portrait; in this instance, no name is associated (perhaps an error in transcribing Holsinger's written ledgers, or, perhaps the writing was illegible for that entry). The date is also not known, again, likely due to an error in legibility or transcription.

It was not uncommon in this time period to take portraits of the deceased; often the images show the person displayed in the coffin indoors at home, in a funeral parlor, or even outdoors. This portrait appears to show the coffin in the funeral parlor. A small plaque within the coffin interior states, "Mother."

The identity of, and additional information about, the woman will be added as it is researched.

NOTE that the name with which the portrait is labelled (or, labelled "untitled") is not necessarily the name of the sitter(s) in the portrait, but rather the name of the person who paid for the portrait when it was taken (the date and name associated with each photograph is from the business ledgers of R. W. Holsinger). 
Sources

- "Untitled," date unkown (~1920-39), photograph in UVA Library Catalogue (Y21555B)

SEE ALSO:

Holsinger Image Gallery of African Americans

J. F. Bell Funeral Home Records

Charlottesville City Directory, 1914-15 [Hathi Trust] 

1870 & 1910 U. S. Census - Charlottesville & Esmont Communities

First published: March 2, 2021

Return to the Holsinger Main Page or African-American Portraiture List of Names