It was a great disappointment to me that the Thompson family knew so few
facts about Lola and her artist husband, but by means of Lola’s album
and by word of mouth they verified certain facts in my mind.
[Illustration: BRUMIDI’S GRAVE
The grave site of Constantino Brumidi, in Glenwood Cemetery (Washington,
D. C.) will soon bear a marker from the Government of the United States.
In this picture, taken in early spring, we can locate the burial site of
the Capitol artist in the immediate foreground, just inside the little
iron fence, that being site 6 of Lot 70. Twin shafts on sites 1 and 2
within the fence mark the graves of Lola Germon’s parents. The deed to
this lot, issued in 1866 to Eliza Germon, Lola’s mother, is now in the
possession of Lola’s great-grandniece, Mildred Thompson, of
Washington.]
They knew that Lola Germon had married Brumidi when she was about
eighteen years old; that Laurence was their only son; that the beautiful
Lola had modeled for many of the Capitol paintings; and that at one
time, as Mrs. Brumidi, Lola attended a White House reception with her
artist husband, in the most beautiful gown he could afford to buy.
The hallowed old album in which Lola had chosen to preserve her
treasured Brumidi memories held many pictures of Brumidi, of Laurence,
and of the young Lola, but for the most part all pictures were undated
and unmarked--all, save one. On the back of a photograph of a very
beautiful young girl (Lola Germon) were these words, written in a
childish hand, “This is my lovely mama.”
Four small unmarked photographs on the last pages of the old album are
of special interest since they are reproductions of religious paintings.
It was my guess that they were photographs of Brumidi’s working sketches
for church decorations--and to date two of these have been identified.
The huge fresco over the main altar in St. Stephen’s Church in New York,
some 70 feet in height, is the same “Crucifixion” as that in the little
photograph in Lola’s album, and the large fresco over the main altar in
the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia is the same
“Crucifixion” scene only with outstanding figures of Saint Peter and
Saint Paul at the foot of the cross.