She used to be someone's mother, or wife, or favorite aunt. She used to hang proudly over a fireplace, or in someone's hall. You can't tell it from my picture (sorry about that -- I'm an amateur), but the colors appear hand-tinted, which means someone took a lot of time and effort to get this picture to look so beautiful.
I found her in Goodwill, among all the framed posters of Michael Jordan and inspirational quotes and paintings of Noah's Ark. There she was, in her unassuming frame, abandoned. Her husband/child/niece had died, and the family members cleaned out the house, threw everything away or donated it. This picture was deemed not worth keeping.
Sadly, the photo paper is fused to the cardboard backing, so if there's anything on the back I can't see it. I've tried a few times over the years to give this lovely lady a name, but nothing sticks. It should, obviously, be a name fitting to her golden time period, an old-lady name, but a pretty one. (Edna just won't do.) I like Grace, or Eleanor.
This wonderful portrait has inspired my collection of old family photos, of people I've never met and am not related to, which I'll be posting here from time to time.
I vote for Grace or Ruth.
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