About Our Louis Braille Portrait

The photo of Nancy Williams' exquisite charcoal portrait of Louis Braille that appears on this website brings comments and inquiries from all over the world.

Nancy earned a B.A. in art from Whitman College. She then studied at Atelier Lack and at Atelier Prohl in Minneapolis and completed her atelier studies at the Ingbretson Studio near Boston, Massachusetts.

In 1998 Nancy took a course in braille. Her son is blind, and she wanted to be able to exchange letters with him that he could read for himself.

Carolyn Meyer, teacher of the class, mentioned that she was looking for a good likeness of Louis Braille and showed Nancy a poor quality copy of an old daguerreotype photo. On the last day of class, Nancy quietly presented the portrait she created while she was learning braille.

Nancy is founder of The Masters' Atelier of Drawing and Painting in Port Townsend, Washington. A teacher for many years of both art and the Bible, she is dedicated to passing on what she has learned to future generations. Her work can be found in art shows and galleries around the Northwest.

The portrait portrays Louis Braille wearing the formal uniform of a teacher at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, France. Students and teachers wore the same uniform made of a black cloth. Teachers were identified by a palm leaf design on the lapels.