Alexander, "Francesca", also known as Ester Frances

Ester Alexander, of Boston, was known for her kind deeds, her "sensitive" drawings of the people and landscape of Italy, especially the peasants whose folk songs she recorded and who became subjects of her poetry. She was discovered by John Ruskin, prominent English artist and writer who was associated with the Aesthetic Movement in Europe. He purchased 122 drawings from Alexander and referred to her as his "Sorella" and to her mother as his "Mammina".

She lived most of her life in Italy with her expatriate parents, Francis Alexander and Lucia Gray Swett Alexander. Her father was a self-taught portrait painter, and her mother was a domineering w...