21 X 35 Oil
Martin’s family was one of the early settlers in the original Fort Hall area of Idaho west of Pocatello. He was Minerva’s first cousin; their mothers were sisters. A cowboy, Mart Driscoll had driven cattle from the Dalles in Oregon to the stockyards of Omaha or St. Louis. The Driscoll home was in “the Bottoms” along the Snake River from the late 1800’s until the building of the American Falls Dam. By the end of 1926, the entire area, including Minerva’s own homestead, was overcome by and now rests beneath the waters of the American Falls Reservoir
Minerva grew up in the area and always considered it home. Her books, “Drowned Memories” and “A Fort Hall Romance” detail life there. Martin was once shot by an Indian in the middle of winter, who only one hour before Driscoll had given a blanket. He would have died if Agnes hadn’t treated the wound, with turpentine, until they could get him to a doctor in Pocatello.
The application of paint on this and the portrait of Agnes Driscoll is thicker for Minerva. We know both portraits were hanging in the Driscoll home prior to 1926. We believe these paintings were painted after 1912 and prior to 1920. Mart died in 1936.
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