Thurston John Donnellan: Renowned Portrait Painter of the 19th Century (1840–1908)
By: Julia L. Vivian
Published: 1952
Updated: January 26, 2017
Thurston John Donnellan, portrait painter, was born in Houston in 1840. His father was a violinist originally from Ireland and his mother was French, the daughter of General de Adendy of New Orleans. He studied art in Chicago and New Orleans under Oregon Wilson and began painting at the age of eighteen. In 1875 he married Jessamine Hawthorne. He painted portraits of several Confederate generals, including Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, but was best known for his portraits of Sam Houston, one of which is at Rice University, one at the Houston City Hall, and another in the Houston Public Library. Donnellan died in Houston in 1908.
Bibliography:
Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Julia L. Vivian, “Donnellan, Thurston John,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/donnellan-thurston-john.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FDO15
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- 1952
- January 26, 2017
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