The Bride Beautiful © Sarah Vernon

The Bride Beautiful © Sarah Vernon

“Dead people are easy to love. It’s the living ones who are hard.”
― Laurence Overmire

This late Victorian beauty in her exquisite wedding gown is an ancestor. At least, I have assumed she’s part of my family. Unframed, she was among my father’s possessions when I was sorting everything out after he died in 1997. Was she a Vernon marrying someone else? Was she another lady marrying into the Vernon family.  She lay among a pile of other—recognisable—family photographs but I had never seen her before. There is nothing written on the back and it is too late to ask him about her identity. I have wondered ever since, a wondering that may well lead to a work of fiction!

It could be, of course, that she is from my mother’s (Hoskyns) side of the family and became accidentally mixed up with my father’s photographs. Her eyebrows suggest she’s a Hoskyns. Alas, I will never know.

“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.”
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

There was little restoration needed: I have merely brushed out the imperfections and made the sepia tones a little more vibrant. I almost adapted her in my usual way but when I added a French Brocante document as a faint background, Mr FND said, ’No!’ He was quite right.

“No one can be free who has a thousand ancestors.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Emily Climbs

I did do a Google search in case the lady was a known person but all it came up with was ‘Best guess for this image: Lord Tweedmouth‘, which made me hoot with laughter.

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America

Take care and keep laughing!

Sarah