Finally, the husband stepped out into the hall and announced that all was over.
Date1913
Artist
Arthur E. Becher
(American artist and illustrator, 1877–1960)
Illustration Citation"Mysteries that have never been solved. Grave of the Female Stranger," by John Elfreth Watkins, in The Ladies' Home Journal, September 1913
MediumCrayon and gouache on paper mounted on illustration board
Dimensionscomposition: 6 5/8 × 10 3/4 in. (16.8 × 27.3 cm)
sheet: 7 3/16 × 11 3/8 in. (18.3 × 28.9 cm)
sheet: 7 3/16 × 11 3/8 in. (18.3 × 28.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of the estate of Frieda Becher, 1971
Object number1971-124
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextOne of a series dedicated to unsolved mysteries, this article tells of a woman who died while visiting Alexandria, Virginia, in 1816. When her husband left her death bed, he revealed her identity to no one. One speculation was that she was the lost Theodosia Burr Alston, the daughter of U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr. Although it was commonly accepted that Theodosia had died in a shipwreck in 1812, rumors arose that she had somehow survived and later died in Alexandria. The identity of the "stranger" was never discovered.
