Skip to content
  • The Barker Mansion is closed for renovations.
  • Home
  • Visit The Mansion
  • In The News
  • Events
    • Legacy Of Freight
    • Wedding Rental
    • Corporate Business Rental
    • Private Events Rental
    • Tea At The Mansion
  • About Us
    • Reviews
    • Historic Timeline
    • Virtual Tour
    • Original Jensen Designs
  • We Are Renovating
  • Rental Inquiry
  • Connect
    • Contact
    • Get Involved
Menu
  • Home
  • Visit The Mansion
  • In The News
  • Events
    • Legacy Of Freight
    • Wedding Rental
    • Corporate Business Rental
    • Private Events Rental
    • Tea At The Mansion
  • About Us
    • Reviews
    • Historic Timeline
    • Virtual Tour
    • Original Jensen Designs
  • We Are Renovating
  • Rental Inquiry
  • Connect
    • Contact
    • Get Involved

Contributors Corner February 2023

  • February 15, 2023

A portrait of Catherine barker hickox

 In this feature, Sarane Hickox Ross reflects on the portrait artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff (1888-1980), one of whose paintings is in The Barker Mansion collection. 
 

Hello, Fellow History Lovers!

For the last few years, a watercolor portrait of my mother, Catherine Barker Hickox, sat on the table under the tapestry in the front foyer of the Mansion.  It was sent to the Mansion by my father, probably sometime in the 1970s when her childhood home had become The Barker Civic Center. The portrait in pastel colors was painted by Elizabeth Shoumatoff in the late 1940s. She was a longtime resident of Locust Valley, New York, which was near to my parents’ Long Island home. Madam Shoumatoff also painted my father’s portrait, as well as the four of us Hickox children around the same time.  Later, in about the 1960s, my father commissioned her to make copies of my mother’s portrait and gave one to each of us.

Madam Shoumatoff  (nee Avinoff) was born in the Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire, and emigrated to the United States in 1917.  Her father was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army. She and her husband, Leo, came to this country in 1917 when he was a member of the Russian Purchasing Commission.  After the Bolshevik Revolution, they decided to stay in the United States.  Following her husband’s death in 1928, Madam Shoumatoff began to paint professionally. She painted over 3,000 portraits. She was skilled not only in watercolor but also in oil.

Her talent brought her private commissions from many prominent families in America, including the Fricks, duPonts, Mellons, Phipps, and Firestones. Her best-known work is the unfinished portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which she was painting in Warm Springs, Georgia, when he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in April 1945. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson chose Madam Shoumatoff to paint their official White House portraits.

Respectfully submitted,

Sarane H. Ross

Share this post

Sign Up

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Our Events

Christmas/Holiday Events
Wedding Rental
Corporate Business Rental
Private Events Rental
Tea At The Mansion

Our Hours

The Barker Mansion is currently closed to tours while we renovate. Please contact us for event hosting.

Company Details

631 Washington St, Michigan City, IN 46360
Phone: (219) 873-1520
Privacy Policy
Terms Of Use

Facebook-f Instagram Youtube Tripadvisor

Accessibility

The Barker Mansion has an accessibility ramp in the rear of the building so guests can access the first floor and first floor bathroom. The lower level is accessible via two chair lifts. We ask that those who require the ramp call ahead so that staff can meet guests at the side entrance on 7th Street: (219) 873-1520. Please contact the Mansion with any questions. We are happy to help!