This framed oil portrait of Mary Elitch Long was done by artist J. Harrison Mills in 1896 and donated in March 1931 by LeRoy R. Hafen. Dr. Hafen donated a variety of items of historical value between 1927-1954., Mary Hauck Elitch Long (1850-1936) was born in Philadelphia and moved with her family to California when young where her father had a livestock and fruit business. At 16 she eloped with John Elitch, Jr. and moved to Durango; two years later they moved to Denver and started a restaurant known as Elitch's. A few years later Mary and her husband opened Elitch Gardens bringing a zoo, flowers, plants, theatre, music, etc. to Denver. Their famous Elitch Theatre brought big name entertainers to the area. In 1891 John died of pneumonia he contracted while they were in San Francisco. Mary continued to manage the park after John died and gained the reputation for being a good businesswoman. She later married Thomas Long who died in 1906. In 1916 Mary sold Elitch Gardens to John Mulvihill with the agreement that it would keep the Elitch name and that she would live rent-free in a cottage on the grounds and receive a monthly stipend of $50. , Artist J. Harrison Mills was born in 1842 near Buffalo, New York and known as a Buffalo, New York artist. In 1859 he began painting portraits in his first studio in Lockport, New York. In 1861 he established himself in Buffalo. Volunteering in the Civil War, he sustained injuries in the Second Battle of Bull Run causing his discharge four months later. He wrote a history of his regiment establishing his journalistic skills along with his artistic. He came to Colorado in 1872, due to his wife's ill health, settling in Grand County. There Mrs. Mills taught children of the first settlers in the area. Mills immersed himself in the area mingling with trappers, explorers, hunters, Indians and mountaineers, and made long journeys on snow shoes. Thus his paintings reflect the real life of the frontier. Mills brought a professionalism to the artistic community in Denver. In 1876 he organized the Academy of Fine Arts Association of Colorado which subsequently led to the founding of the Colorado Academy of Design. Among its directors were Governor F. W. Pitkin, William G. Evans, and Mills himself, who was elected as its first president. While in Denver he engaged in wood engraving for book illustrations, painting portraits and landscapes, and writing for magazines. In 1882 he managed the first art exhibition in Colorado under the auspices of the Mining and Industrial Exposition. By 1885 his wife's health had improved and they returned to New York where he continued his artistic work until his death in 1916., Well known Western historian Dr. Leroy Hafen (1893-1985) was donor of this portrait. He was the Colorado State historian (1924-54) and then taught for 17 years at Brigham Young University. He was Director of the Colorado State Museum, Editor of the Colorado Magazine, and one of the founders of the Western History Association as well as author and editor of numerous books on Colorado and the West.