Cornwall Kirkpatrick (1814-1890) 

Amy Kirkpatrick drew this portrait of her father, Cornwall, about ten years after his death. She probably took the image from a photograph. One way artists remember people is to paint or draw them.
 
When you have drawn pictures of friends or family members, what memories have been triggered while you were drawing?

What kinds of memories are triggered when you look closely at photographs of your relatives who have since died?

Amy was a painter and an art teacher who had studied art formally in Chicago, Illinois. She taught art from 1889 to at least 1909 at Union Academy in Anna, Illinois. She was known for her skill in watercolor painting. 
 

Cornwall Kirkpatrick

Cornwall Kirkpatrick grew up in Ohio, where his father ran a pottery. He apprenticed at his father's company in 1833. He went off to "see the country" for a few months, working on flatboats on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Then he joined the family business and ran several potteries in Ohio and Kentucky. Cornwall was a potter and the manager of the Anna Pottery, the company he and his brother founded in 1859. He did the accounting and oversaw daily operations with customers, transportation, and orders. The cemetery urns and markers were his special creations. 

Cornwall became involved in local politics. Twice he was elected town trustee. He became Anna's first mayor in 1872. One of the most important issues in Anna politics at this time was whether or not to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages. The movement toward Temperance (to prohibit alcohol) was the more powerful side. Cornwall gained their support. As mayor, he also helped Anna become a healthier place to live by promoting the cleaning and expansion of the street system, landscaping, and the building of wells. 

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