{"url": "https://ja.localwiki.org/api/v4/pages_history/1399268/", "name": "Helen Tanner Brodt", "slug": "helen tanner brodt", "content": "
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\n\n\tHelen Alice Tanner Brodt (April 21, 1838 \u2013 March 10, 1909) was an artist of some note, and the namesake of Lake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National Park. She's said to be the first white woman to climb the Mt. Lassen peak, and following the climb, expedition leader\u00a0Major Pierson B. Reading named the lake for her. She also taught art in the Oakland schools; her husband was educator Aurelius W. (\"A.W.\") Brodt. 1
\n\n\tHelen Tanner was born in Elmira, New York, in 1838 to Joshua and Sarah Tanner. After attending the\u00a0National Academy of Design in New York City, she married A.W. Brodt in 1861, and they moved west to Red Bluff, California, in 1863. In August 1864, they were camping near Mt. Lassen when Major Reading's party spotted the smoke of their campfire. He invited them to join their climb, and on August 28, 1864, she became the first white woman to summit Mt. Lassen. 1,2
\n\n\tHelen and A.W. had four children daughter Ethel Brodt (1865 \u2013 1947), son Paul W. Brodt (1868 \u2013 1946), daughter Wyntie Bogardus Brodt (1875 \u2013 1963), and son Shirley M. Brodt (1876 \u2013 1899). Ethel and Paul were born in Tehama County; Wyntie and Shirley were born in Oakland.
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\n\n\tTanner Brodt attended the National Academy of Design in New York City. After moving to Oakland, in 1867, she became the first art instructor of noted artist Arthur F. Mathews. 1 Mathews was the brother of architect Walter J. Mathews.
\n\n\tWhile she produced some landscapes, Tanner Brodt was best known for painting portraits. Several of her paintings and drawings are owned by the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. The Oakland Museum of California also has some her art supplies, a watercolor tray and a box of pastels. 3
\n\n\tOne of Tanner Brodt's better-known portraits was of abolitionist John Brown, which was painted in 1864 (apparently based on a well-known\u00a0daguerreotype), under the supervision of Mrs. Brown. 5 The painting was given to Storer College at Harper's Ferry, and may be hanging in the Harper's Ferry National Historical Park. 5 Another source says it's in the collection of the Smithsonian. 6
\n\n\tKnown portraits include:
\n\n\tTanner Brodt died in Berkeley in 1909. After a funeral at the First Christian Church of Berkeley, her remains were interred at \"The Hights\", Joaquin Miller's estate where Joaquin Miller Park is now. 4
\n\n\tThe Brodt's son Shirley was also interred there following his death in 1898.
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