100 years ago today readers of the Knoxville Journal and Tribune opening their newspaper were treated to this beautiful bridal portrait of Mary Alice Brown (née Edgemore), taken by the Branson Sisters Studio:
The portrait was taken at the Knoxville branch of the Branson Sisters Studio in Knoxville, TN. That’s where the Branson sisters (Laura Branson Boyles, Helen Branson Peace, Maude Branson Stephenson) and their mother, Laura G. Branson, all worked as photographers. (I should note, though, that by 1924 I think that sister Maude Branson Stephenson and her husband had long since moved away from the area.)
The Branson Sisters Studio was a successor to the Branson Studio (which offered photography and oil painting services) — that studio opened in the late 1890s. At various times the Branson Studio was run by either Laura G. Branson, her husband, Oliver Branson, and/or Oliver’s brother, Lloyd Branson, who was a famous portrait painter in the early 20th century.
Interestingly, the fact that the Branson sisters were from a family of artists always gets mentioned when there are notices about them in the newspaper:
The Branson Sisters had their studio in Knoxville, TN, and they also had a branch studio in Atlanta, Georgia. That branch studio, run by Laura Branson Boyle’s husband, William H. Boyle, specialized in processing Kodak film taken by amateur photographers:
Laua Branson Boyle, her sister Helen Stephenson, and their mother Laura G. Branson continued running the Branson Sisters Studio well into the 1930s. At some point, the Atlanta studio also took studio photographs in addition to the Kodak film services. I base that on the fact that the the Atlanta newspaper publishes photos of people where the photo credit is the Branson Sisters Studio:
Laura G. Branson dies in 1935 and there is a long obituary in the newspaper. Here’s a clipping of just the headline and a photo of her that appeared as part of the obituary:
Anyway, today I just wanted to share this basic information about the hardworking and talented Branson family of photographers, particularly the three Branson sisters and their mother. So, sit back and appreciate the beautiful photo (at the top of this post) taken by the Branson Sisters Studio, published in the newspaper, 100 years ago today.
