PRE-SALES FIRSTS Volume I: Frances Brand's Portraits of 20th-Century Pioneers by Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society

PRE-SALES ONLY, books begin shipping in November, 2024

Hard Cover Book, 96 Pages

Frances Brand (1901-1990) was a U.S. Army major, a civil rights activist, a world traveler, a devoted churchgoer, and a portrait artist, among other things. Some remember her as a colorful eccentric who loved to dress in purple, while others knew her as a committed and lifelong social activist. Brand retired from the military in 1954, studied art at Mexico City College where she earned a fine arts degree, then moved to Charlottesville in 1959.

In the 1970s, Brand undertook a series of portraits of individuals from Charlottesville and Albemarle County that would become her Gallery of Firsts.

Behind each of Brand’s portraits of these 20th-century pioneers is a special story. In this book, we feature 51 portraits from the full collection of currently known Firsts portraits and share some of the compelling stories about those depicted.