Part 1: The Trail Begins

Try finding a more charming Bolles painting than this, despite the fact that Bolles left a legacy of over 500 others! Imagine my feelings when I learned the original painting was given to a letter writer to Film Fun who merely expressed the fact that he really liked it (well, I think he said he wanted it too, as if that made the difference). A decade ago when I started my project on Bolles the Internet was a wild free-for-all, open for grabs. I was able to download national archives and access death notices and even social security files. My search for information on Enoch strung on for months but finally led me to a fateful phone call with his daughter, Theresa; a vibrant 88 years young and the last surviving of his seven children. Sadly, Theresa passed away two years ago but her support and friendship still sustains me in my quest to learn more about her father and publish a book on his art and life.

In the interim the Internet has grown into a very different entity. Two years ago I learned about a historical database on national newspapers and naturally, I did a search on Enoch Bolles. What I found knocked the socks off me and started me down a trail that has not quite ended.

Coming-Part 2: False Leads and Dead Ends