Description:Seated formal upper body portrait of Angelyn (Donaldson) Koella (1926-2012) including white blouse, waist, arms and hands; peace lilies in background; original "Knaffl & Bro." frame.
History:Commissioned from artist by Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Koella; written on back, "Angelyn Donaldson Koella - By Edward Hurst Rockford 1959-"; displayed in Koellla residence in Rockford, TN, Louisville, TN & Knoxville, TN; 2012 given to current (2017) owner
Notes:Edward Harrision Hurst, Jr. (1912 Knoxville, TN-1972 Scotland) was known for his elegantly painted society portraits & medticulous still life drawings. He was the grandson of Joseh Knaffl, one of Knoxville's early professional portrait photographers. Hurst demonstrated early art talent and left Knoxville to study with George Luks at New York's renowned Art Students League even before graduating from high school. Hurst developed a severe allergy to oil paint in 1959 and developed a new technique by combining watercolor, conte and colored pencil on paper. Late in his career, the artist increasingly devoted his energies to depicting shells, plants and other still life objects. Although Hurst returned to Knoxville frequently to display his elegant society portraits and precisely-crafted still lifes, he spent much of his life mingling with wealthy clientele near his studios in New York and London [source--text for Knoxville (TN) Museum of Art permanent exhibit, "Higher Ground: A century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee," accessed November 2017]
