Throughout the stately rooms of the exclusive Belle Meade Country Club hangs art that has graced the walls of the clubhouse for decades. Passing through the rooms, members and guests alike often pause by the portrait of a beautiful young woman in a regal gown with her arm around a young boy. The lady in the portrait is none other than Maria Kirkman “Queenie” Woods Washington. A Nashville native, Queenie married George Augustine Washington Jr. — a descendent of the father of our nation’s first president, George Washington. Together, they built a palatial 44-room estate and were active in the Nashville social scene. Most notably, Queenie was the organizer and honorary regent of the General James Robertson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The artist behind the painting’s creation was Ella Sophonisba Hergesheimer. Born in Pennsylvania, Ella found a passion for art at a young age. After success in school, she participated in a traveling exhibition organized by the Nashville Art Association. She then relocated to Nashville and spent the rest of her life in Music City. A contemporary of Queenie’s, Ella made a career painting portraits of ladies and children in the social set  — just like the one of Queenie and her son Robert that now hangs at Belle Meade Country Club. Other notable subjects include former Speaker of the House Joseph W. Byrns Sr. and Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury.