For those attending this year’s 50th Anniversary Reunion, we have a special treat. We will have on view, a painting variously referred to as “A Study in Black and White”, or “Learning to Knit”. This painting was painted on site at Thornhill around 1890 by Charles Martin Hardie, a Scottish painter of some renown. The subject is his wife, Mary Hardie Lewis Hardie (8.1) who was a grand-daughter of John and Mary Hardie and whose mother Annie Eliza inherited Thornhill (and installed the race track!). Mary’s mother had died in 1880, so she and Charles were visiting her father, J.M. Lewis at Thornhill from Scotland. Sadly, Mary lost her child, a son, while in Washington, D.C. on their way to Thornhill, so the scene in the painting represents a quiet moment with a grieving mother teaching a useful skill to a young girl of very different circumstances.

Mary and Charles returned to Scotland where they had a second child, Constance. The painting was given by Constance to Anna Meade Minnigerode around 1970. Anna donated it to the Thornhill Foundation in 1984. When Thornhill was soldto the Greene family in 1985, the painting traveled first to New Orleans, then to Mobile, and hung in the homes of two presidents of the Thornhill Foundation. The painting has returned to Thornhill in time to allow those attending the 50th Anniversary Reunion the opportunity to see it before it travels on to its next home. We are excited to reunite the painting with its setting and to view it in that setting once again.

The Mystery – Who was the little girl? We would like to identify her if possible. Would you like to help us in this endeavor? If you are able to assist – email us at Thornhillfoundation@gmail.com.

One Last Item – After the painting left Thornhill in the 1980s, this image still remained. Marilyn Greene, an accomplished artist in her own right, created a copy. When you attend the reunion, find Marilyn’s version and see if you can spot what she changed!

CLICK HERE For more on the Hardie painting, the subjects and the painter.