Subjects ~ Taylor Blow (1820 -1869) and Eliza Augusta Wahrendorff Blow (c. 1824 – d. 1861)
Oil on Canvas ~ 28” x 35” (overall 35” x 42”)
Oil on Panel ~ 34” x 40” (overall 46” x 52”)
Unknown Artist (s)
Commentary: Taylor Blow was the son of Peter and Elizabeth Taylor Blow whose brief biographies accompany their portraits. The Blows were the first owners of the slave Dred Scott who was brought by them from Southampton County, Virginia to Missouri, via Alabama. Taylor Blow (not to be confused with his older brother Henry Taylor Blow ( 1817-1875) a prominent businessman, congressman and diplomat) was born near Huntsville, Alabama, March 26, 1820 and moved with his family to Saint Louis in 1830. Although by 1833 Scott had become the property of Dr. John Emerson, the son of his prior owner played a crucial role in the course of his life. Taylor Blow and his brother Henry, along with other members of the related Charless and LeBeaumes families, supported Scott financially and otherwise during the eleven years of legal battles that resulted in the landmark Supreme Court decision.
Taylor Blow has been identified by historian Walter Ehrlich as the most important of the “friends” who “assisted and advised Dred Scott and thus were the motivating force behind the suit for freedom.” In 1857, after the Supreme Courts refused to grant Scott his freedom, Taylor Blow purchased Dred Scott, posted the substantial bond required, and liberated the man with whom he had been “raised.” At Scott’s death, Taylor Blow purchased a burial site in one of Saint Louis’ interracial cemeteries. The efforts on Scott’s behalf by the Blows and associates are little recognized elements in this complex and crucial litigation, as is Taylor Blow’s liberation of Scott, which brought a degree of resolution to their intertwined lives and roles in American history.
Taylor Blow attended St. Louis College and the school of Elihu Shepard. He pursued a number of commercial ventures after becoming a partner with his brother-in-law Joseph Charless, Jr. but suffered financial reversals during the 1860s. He was a friend of Ulysses S. Grant who offered him an appointment after learning of his economic distress, which he declined. Taylor Blow died in Saint Louis in 1869 after an illness of several months duration.
Eliza Wahrendorff was the daughter and only child of Charles Wahrendorff (d.1831) and Anne Charless. Her father was a partner in the firm of Tracy & Wharendorff and she seems to have inherited property from both her mother and father. She married Taylor Blow in 1843 with whom she had a number of children. Eliza Blow died in 1861 or 1862.
Condition: The portrait of Taylor Blow has been relined but appears to be on its original stretcher. The frame bears the tag of a conservator “Hiram H. Hoelzer / Box 333/ GPO/ New York, NY No. 13681.” The identity and life dates of the sitter are noted in modern script on the verso. The painting has not been examined by a professional conservator but there is evidence of inpainting to various areas of the canvas. The frame appears to be period and original.
The portrait of Eliza W. Blow has been mounted on panel and bears the label of “Hannah Mee Horner” of Philadelphia (as does the portrait of Elizabeth Taylor Blow). The identity of the sitter is noted on the panel. The painting has not been examined by a professional conservator there seem to be areas of inpaint beneath the varnish layer. The frame appears to be original and is considerable larger and grander than that on the portrait of Taylor.
Provenance: Taylor Blow & Eliza Augusta Wahrendorff
To their daughter, Augusta Wahrendorff Blow (1850-1924) & Louis Rice Lemoine (1858-1926)
To their niece, Katherine Lemoine Perkins (1901 -1992) & Lloyd Crow Stark (1886-1972)
To their daughter, the current owner
SOLD
