Portrait of Julia Parmly Billings

This portrait of Julia Parmly Billings was painted three years after her marriage to Frederick Billings. The pearl-studded cross at her neck became a family heirloom.

Anton Wenzler was born in Denmark, and came to America when young. He made his career in New York City as a portrait, miniature, still life, genre, and landscape painter. He belonged to an artistic and social circle that included Julia Parmly’s family. Wenzler exhibited widely, and became a member of the National Academy in 1860.