Celebrating local legend Mina Edison as we enter National Women's History Month

Tomorrow marks the start of National Women's History Month, so it's only fitting that I draw attention to local legend Mina Miller Edison, who I had the honor of painting for a portrait exhibition that was displayed the last two years in the historic Caretaker's Cottage at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.

My painting of Mina not only depicts the self-described home executive, but the family's dog, Cinnamon.

 

I did the painting on three separate panels. This is known in art circle as a triptych. My triptych of Mina and Cinnamon served as the centerpiece of the Fort Myers Founding Female Portrait Exhibition, a show designed to introduce Southwest Florida residents and visitors to the names and faces of Fort Myers’ most prominent female leaders, civic activists, philanthropists and entrepreneurs.

The portrait is based on an historical photograph furnished by the Edison Historical Society. It was painted in California on un-stretched canvas so that it could be rolled and more easily transported back to Fort Myers, where it was mounted on one-inch thick, acid-free Gator board that the Edison & Ford Winter Estates specially ordered for the occasion.

Each panel measures 24 by 72 inches. The painting is something of a departure for me. While it incorporates my trademark loose and lively brushstrokes, it does not include any of the drips, sprays and splatters you will see in other works.

The triptych has been on display since June of 2015 at the Edison Ford Shoppe at Bell Tower.

Once the Edisons' children grew up and left the house, Mina became active in numerous social welfare movements including the Chautauqua Association (where she served as president of the Bird & Tree Club), the American Red Cross, the West Orange Community League, the National Audubon Society, the local Methodist church, the John Burroughs Association, the Daughters of the American Revolution (where she served for a year as its national chaplain), and the School Garden Association of America. In Fort Myers, Mina was instrumental in the foundation of the Fort Myers Round Table, a group of local leaders whom she brought together around the dining room table at Seminole Lodge in the interest of community improvement.


She gave numerous speeches to local groups in West Orange and in Fort Myers, often on the importance of garden clubs and neighborhood organizations, the role of recreation in the education of children, and the value of musical instruction. A dedicated conservationist long before that word became part of our everyday lexicon, she became close friends with and an ardent supporter of Jay “Ding” Darling, the renowned cartoonist turned conservationist who was tapped by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1934 to head the U.S. Biological Survey (the forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).


After Thomas Edison’s death in 1931, Mina’s community involvement continued. She married childhood friend Edward Hughes in 1935, but after his death in 1940, Mina resumed using Edison as her surname. When the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation was formed in 1946 “for the advancement of education and scientific research,” Mina became its honorary chair. A year later, she graciously deeded Seminole Lodge and the rest of the winter estate to the City of Fort Myers in order to perpetuate the Thomas’ name and fame. She died shortly thereafter at the age of 82, and is buried beside Thomas Edison on the grounds of their home Glenmont in West Orange, New Jersey.

Mina Miller Edison was definitely a woman who sought to give voice to, and empower, women. So it is indeed to reflect on her contributions to our community and the country at large as we enter National Women's History Month!