The Parmly Sisters

The Parmly sisters were the daughters of Dr. Eleazar Parmly, a prominent dentist in New York who was known as the “father of modern dentistry.” In this portrait, Louisa, on the left, holds a book of Beethoven’s music, and Julia, on the right, sits at the piano leafing through sheet music. Their sister Mary is in the center. In 1851, Thomas P. Rossiter married Anna Parmly, elder sister of these girls. Anna does not appear in this image because she had died shortly before it was made.