BAILLET FAMILY
The Baillets and the Arts
Summer Song and friend. © Russel Mobley. Snapped Nov. 7, 2000 at 4:57:32PM. Isn't technology grand!!!
(At left, sketch on a note sent to a friend.)
The three Baillet sisters living in Tullahoma, Tennessee were well thought of as amateur artists.
Obituaries of Jennie and Affa Baillet both make reference to their art talent. Affa is cited as "a gifted artist."
The paintings and drawings were often given away to friends and relatives.
The Tullahoma Fine Art Center has several unsigned paintings in their permanent collection, which are attributed to the Baillet sisters, including a "self-portrait" of Jennie Baillet. The styles and subject matter are varied, and there is little or no documentation available to attribute the works to an individual sister.
But, oral tradition holds that the paintings were created by the Baillets. And there are the references in obituaries, stating that the community recognized the sisters as talented artists.
The Baillet sisters were the inspiration for the creation of Summer Song by sculptor Russell Faxon.
The bronze statue is on display in front of the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center on South Jackson Street. Financed with a $5,000 grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and public donations, it was unveiled during a public ceremony on October 17, 1999.
In addition to painting, Jennie Baillet was also interested in the literary arts, contributing her own writings for printed columns and poetry contests.
PAINTING: According to a note card in the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center's archive, the original oil is of Durham Cathedral on the River Ware in Durham County, England. The note card reads, "It is not known if Miss Bailette (sic) used a photography (sic) or other painting for this composition or possibly she had visited the Catheral (sic) herself. It dates in the early 1800's."
The card does not state which Baillett is referred to, but it is doubtful the painting was created in the early 1800s. The first Baillet children were not born until the 1830s. Unless they were child prodigies, the painting dates to the last half of the nineteenth century.
Black & white image of a painting by Jane Baillet. It depicts a scene featuring the Tullahoma train depot.
