Lois Wilson
{"TemplateVersion":"aa-profile-v2-linea-keys","WpPageId":540453,"ParentWpPageId":538638,"Slug":"lois-wilson","Title":"Lois Wilson","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/logos/lengua/peoples/cultures/praying/pghaa/aa-history/lois-wilson/","Kicker":"ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PROFILE","DisplayTitle":"Lois Wilson","Deck":"Bill Wilson's wife and a central figure in the family and fellowship work that grew alongside A.A., including the later development of Al-Anon.","BackLink":{"Text":"Back to A.A. History","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/logos/lengua/peoples/cultures/praying/pghaa/aa-history/"},"ContextCards":[{"Label":"Period","Title":"Modern History","DateText":"1800 CE – 1945 CE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/logos/linea/time/history/historical-events/human-history/modern-history/"},{"Label":"Era","Title":"Long 19th Century","DateText":"1870 CE – 1914 CE","Url":"https://chrisdeasy.com/logos/linea/time/history/historical-events/human-history/modern-history/long-19th-century/"},{"Label":"Born","Title":"1891 CE","DateText":"","Url":""},{"Label":"Died","Title":"1988 CE","DateText":"","Url":""}],"GeoCards":[{"Label":"Terra Avita","Key":"Linea:TerraAvita:North America"},{"Label":"Terra Avita Region","Key":"Linea:TerraAvitaRegion:Appalachian–Atlantic Highlands"},{"Label":"Modern Country","Key":"Linea:Country:USA"},{"Label":"State","Key":"Linea:State:NY"}],"School":null,"Birthplace":{"Title":"Brooklyn Heights, New York, United States"},"Images":[{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":1,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/bill-wilson-04-bill-and-lois-wilson-at-fort-adams-in-june-1918.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson at Fort Adams in June 1918.","Caption":"Bill and Lois Wilson at Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, June 1918, approximately five months after their marriage and shortly before Bill’s overseas deployment. Bill bends over a surveying transit in Coast Artillery uniform while Lois stands smiling beside him. The informal scene preserves the newlyweds together during the final stateside stage of Bill’s First World War service and records the early partnership that would later survive his alcoholism and become inseparable from the histories of Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon.","Description":"Lois stands at the left in brilliant sunlight, smiling broadly beneath a dark, elaborately folded hat. Her light blouse opens into a pointed collar and draws inward at a broad waistband before falling into a long skirt patterned with narrow vertical stripes. Her arms hang naturally at her sides, giving her stance a relaxed directness. At right, Bill leans toward a surveying transit mounted on a tall wooden tripod. His body appears in profile beneath a sharply peaked campaign hat; one hand steadies the instrument while the other reaches toward its adjustment mechanism. The dark military shirt, deeply shadowed face, and concentrated posture contrast with Lois’s pale clothing and open smile. The transit’s small telescope, circular fittings, leveling screws, and splayed tripod legs create a mechanical center between the two figures. A low masonry wall extends behind the instrument, beyond which the sky dissolves into a nearly blank field. Hard summer light produces abrupt transitions between white highlights and dense shadow. Grain, surface spotting, softened edges, a central vertical crease or tonal seam, and slight green-gray toning preserve the worn character of the surviving reproduction.","WpMediaId":540746,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page04.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Rhode14.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/bill-wilson-04-bill-and-lois-wilson-at-fort-adams-in-june-1918.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":2,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/bill-wilson-05-bill-and-lois-wilson-preparing-luggage-for-travel.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson preparing luggage for travel.","Caption":"Bill and Lois Wilson pack their Harley-Davidson motorcycle and sidecar during the extended journey they began in 1925 after leaving their jobs. Carrying camping equipment and household necessities, the couple traveled through the eastern United States while Bill pursued opportunities as a field investigator. The photograph matters because it replaces the romantic idea of effortless adventure with a close view of the labor, improvisation, and mutual reliance that characterized the Wilsons’ early marriage before Bill’s alcoholism brought their shared plans toward collapse.","Description":"Bill and Lois bend toward one another across the center of a motorcycle almost submerged beneath luggage. Bill stands at left in a dark sweater or shirt, pale trousers, and tall boots, his head lowered and both hands reaching into the load. Lois leans inward from the opposite side in dark clothing, concentrating on a strap or bundle near the handlebar. Between them rises an irregular stack of rolled bedding, soft bags, folded fabric, and tightly compressed parcels secured above the motorcycle and sidecar. A curved handlebar and sections of the machine’s frame emerge through the cargo, while additional bags and equipment spread across the foreground. The travelers occupy a narrow raised surface bordered by a repeating openwork railing at right; water or a distant open landscape fades into the overexposed background at left. Their converging bodies form an arch around the luggage, turning a practical task into the image’s central action. Strong light bleaches the sky and pale clothing, while deep shadow obscures much of the vehicle. Coarse grain, scattered marks, softened detail, uneven exposure, and a cool green-gray cast preserve the rough immediacy of a small travel snapshot repeatedly copied over time.","WpMediaId":540747,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page05.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Pack35.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/bill-wilson-05-bill-and-lois-wilson-preparing-luggage-for-travel.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":3,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/bill-wilson-06-bill-and-lois-wilson-with-their-harley-davidson-motorcycle.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson with their Harley-Davidson motorcycle.","Caption":"Bill and Lois Wilson pose with their Harley-Davidson Model J during the year of motorcycle travel they began in 1925. Bill occupies the saddle for the photograph, although Lois ordinarily drove while he rode in the sidecar. Their machine carried the couple, camping equipment, and Bill’s financial-research materials through the eastern United States. The portrait matters both as a record of their adventurous early marriage and as evidence of Lois’s often understated independence and practical authority long before she cofounded Al-Anon Family Groups.","Description":"Bill sits high on the motorcycle at right, his torso turned toward the camera while one hand rests near the handlebar. His dark hair is brushed straight back, and his long face carries a serious, almost challenging expression. A light jacket or heavy shirt with a broad open collar contrasts with his dark trousers and sturdy lace-up boots, one of which rests squarely on the motorcycle’s wide footboard. Lois appears behind the front assembly at left, her face framed by short dark hair and the pale collar of her clothing. She looks toward the camera with a quiet, steady expression while the motorcycle’s enormous circular headlamp rises directly before her, partly obscuring her body. The front wheel dominates the lower-left corner: a broad curved fender follows the tire, fine spokes radiate from the hub, and the paired fork members descend in strong parallel lines. The fuel tank, frame, engine casing, saddle, footboard, and sections of the sidecar assembly crowd the center and lower right. Dense leaves and tree trunks form an almost black backdrop, while a rough pale bank or roadside surface catches the light beneath the machine. Scratches, scattered white specks, blocked shadows, softened facial detail, and a cool green-gray cast give the copied photograph a weathered, tactile surface.","WpMediaId":540748,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page06.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Harley06.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/bill-wilson-06-bill-and-lois-wilson-with-their-harley-davidson-motorcycle.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":4,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-01-lois-wilson-beside-a-harley-davidson-motorcycle.jpg","Alt":"Lois Wilson beside a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.","Caption":"Lois Burnham Wilson smiles from the Wilson family Harley-Davidson, seated confidently at the controls in an outdoor snapshot. The Wilsons undertook a year-long motorcycle journey in 1923, recorded in Lois’s diary, years before recovery work transformed their lives. The photograph preserves the adventurous independence of the woman who later organized a worldwide fellowship for the families and friends of alcoholics.","Description":"Lois sits upright astride the motorcycle with both arms extended toward the handlebars. She turns from the machine and smiles broadly at the camera, bringing warmth and spontaneity to the mechanical setting. A close-fitting dark cap shades her forehead and gathers her hair. Beneath it she wears a light long-sleeved blouse with the sleeves rolled or bunched at the forearms, a darker vest, loose riding trousers, and sturdy lace-up boots. Her hands merge with the dark grips, cables, and controls, making her appear actively engaged with the motorcycle rather than simply posed beside it. The Harley runs diagonally through the lower half of the vertical composition. Its front wheel rises at the left, the fuel tank catches a pale oval highlight, and the engine, frame tubes, saddle, rear wheel, and exposed mechanical parts form a dense lattice around and beneath her. A slender post punctuates the horizon behind the handlebars; a low rail and scattered equipment dissolve into the washed-out distance. Open sky fills nearly half the frame, giving the compact figure and machine an expansive sense of movement and possibility. Warm yellow-brown toning, a faint green cast, softened contrast, mottling, and compressed detail obscure the finer workings of the motorcycle, but Lois’s smile, balanced posture, and command of the controls remain unmistakable.","WpMediaId":540749,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page07.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Lois26.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-01-lois-wilson-beside-a-harley-davidson-motorcycle.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":5,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-02-lois-wilson-beside-a-body-of-water.jpg","Alt":"Lois Wilson beside a body of water.","Caption":"Lois Burnham Wilson laughs in brilliant outdoor sunlight, dressed in practical excursion clothes and standing among rocks and foliage. The candid snapshot preserves the humor, physical confidence, and independence of the woman who later joined Anne B. in organizing Al-Anon Family Groups, creating a worldwide fellowship for people affected by another person’s alcoholism.","Description":"Lois leans slightly into the sunlight with her mouth open in a full laugh, her cheeks raised and her eyes narrowed beneath a dark close-fitting cap. A vertical line of small bright studs or fasteners accents the cap above her forehead, while short dark hair curls outward near her ears. Her pale blouse has gathered sleeves and dense decorative stitching, cords, or fringe descending across the chest. A broad sash encircles her waist above high-rise trousers that billow through the thighs and gather tightly below the knees into light stockings or gaiters. The loose, layered clothing has the practical character of outdoor or riding attire rather than formal dress. Her left arm hangs beside a large pale curved rim entering from the lower-left edge, while a soft looped or fringed item rests against her waist. Her right arm reaches downward to grasp a thin line or narrow rod extending diagonally across the broad dark form beside her. That object fills the lower-right quadrant with a smooth curved surface, a hard upper edge, and a pronounced diagonal seam before disappearing beyond the crop. Large pale rocks and dense foliage rise behind Lois, enclosing the figure in a rugged landscape. Hard sunlight bleaches her face, blouse, trousers, and the exposed stone, while the cap, vegetation, and adjacent object collapse into deep black. Grain softens her features, highlights spread into surrounding detail, and blocked shadows conceal much of the lower scene. Despite those losses, her laughter remains immediate and commanding, giving the photograph an expansive, companionable energy.","WpMediaId":540750,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page08.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Lohar07.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-02-lois-wilson-beside-a-body-of-water.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":6,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/bill-wilson-07-bill-and-lois-wilson-together-in-a-later-photograph.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson together in a later photograph.","Caption":"William Griffith ‘Bill W.’ Wilson and Lois Burnham Wilson share an informal Christmas portrait late in their lives together, probably during the 1960s and no later than Christmas 1970. By then, Bill’s role in the growth of Alcoholics Anonymous and Lois’s founding leadership in Al-Anon Family Groups had made the Wilsons central figures in two intertwined recovery fellowships. Their relaxed closeness gives the photograph its historical value: it presents those public legacies through the enduring marriage and domestic partnership that sustained them.","Description":"Lois stands at the left, her short silver-gray hair brushed back in soft waves and her broad smile bright against a dark jacket and pale blouse. Bill, positioned slightly behind her at the right, wears a light jacket over an open-collared shirt; strong daylight washes across his face as he smiles in mid-expression. Dark foliage, slender stems, and pale blossoms rise between them against a shadowed exterior, while white trim and a sunlit wall divide the background. The close composition has the immediacy of a family holiday snapshot. Soft focus, uneven exposure, visible grain, and a muted green-blue cast preserve the timeworn character of the surviving color reproduction.","WpMediaId":540758,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page32.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Xmas.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/bill-wilson-07-bill-and-lois-wilson-together-in-a-later-photograph.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":7,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/bill-wilson-08-bill-and-lois-wilson-after-anne-smith-s-funeral.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson after Anne Smith's funeral.","Caption":"William Griffith ‘Bill W.’ Wilson and Lois Burnham Wilson sit together in Akron in June 1949 following the funeral of Anne Robinson Ripley Smith. Bill remembered Anne as ‘the mother of our first group, Akron Number One’ and as one of Alcoholics Anonymous’s founders. Their subdued appearance gives the photograph particular historical importance, recording the Wilsons during the immediate loss of the friend whose hospitality, counsel, and service had helped sustain A.A.’s first Akron fellowship.","Description":"Bill sits at the left in a dark suit, white shirt, and plain dark tie, his shoulders held square against the striped sofa and his expression caught between solemn attention and fatigue. Lois sits close beside him in a dark dress patterned with large red, white, and yellow flowers and pale leaves. A short strand of pearls follows her neckline, and her swept-back gray hair frames a grave, attentive expression directed just beyond the camera. Horizontal Venetian blinds form alternating bands behind them, divided by a pale central strip, while a floral curtain enters at the far right. Soft focus, visible grain, clipped highlights, and a pronounced yellow-green cast give the surviving reproduction the intimate, timeworn character of a family photograph made during mourning.","WpMediaId":540759,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/aahistoryphotos/page33.html","SourceImageUrl":"https://aamo.info/aabbsg/images/Bilo29.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/bill-wilson-08-bill-and-lois-wilson-after-anne-smith-s-funeral.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":8,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/bill-wilson-18-bill-and-lois-wilson-at-stepping-stones.webp","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson at Stepping Stones.","Caption":"Bill and Lois Wilson walk through the garden in front of Stepping Stones in 1953. At the Westchester County home from which Bill continued his work for Alcoholics Anonymous and Lois helped establish Al-Anon Family Groups, the couple appears together within the domestic landscape that became a working center for two worldwide recovery fellowships.","Description":"Bill walks at left with both hands in the pockets of a light, loose-fitting suit, his open-collared shirt reinforcing the informality of the garden setting. Lois keeps pace beside him in a pale blouse and plaid skirt, with a dark jacket or cape draped broadly across her shoulders and accented by a light floral brooch. Her left hand rests firmly at her hip as she turns toward Bill; he looks ahead with a reserved expression, creating a moment that feels conversational rather than ceremonial. The shingled façade of Stepping Stones fills the background, its doorway and multi-paned windows partly screened by branches and garden growth. Shrubs and tall plants rise across the foreground while a mature tree anchors the left edge. Bright sunlight picks out the couple’s clothing and the house’s trim, while the shaded doorway and foliage give the scene depth and the familiar atmosphere of a private home. The surviving image is presented as a black-and-white photograph within a white border beneath the title “Stepping Stones” on a textured green-gray slide.","WpMediaId":540780,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/bill-and-lois-wilson/31056479","SourceImageUrl":"https://image.slidesharecdn.com/billandloiswilson-140210182928-phpapp01/75/Bill-Wilson-Lois-Wilson-Co-founders-of-AA-Al-Anon-in-Photographs-5-2048.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/bill-wilson-18-bill-and-lois-wilson-at-stepping-stones.webp"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":9,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-03-lois-wilson-smiling-in-portrait.jpg","Alt":"Lois Wilson smiling in portrait.","Caption":"Lois Burnham Wilson smiles across a personal presentation portrait signed in blue-green ink. Cofounder of Al-Anon Family Groups in 1951 and founder of the Stepping Stones Foundation in 1979, she devoted her later life to supporting families affected by alcoholism and preserving the history associated with Stepping Stones. The handwritten dedication makes this portrait especially significant: it presents an internationally recognized organizer through the warmth of an individual exchange.","Description":"Lois tilts her head gently to her right and smiles openly, her upper teeth visible and fine lines gathering around her mouth and eyes. Dark upswept eyeglasses taper toward the temples, with bright hinge details punctuating their heavy rims. Her white hair is brushed high and backward in soft waves before curling outward around her ears and crown, where the surrounding light creates a loose halo. She wears a pale jacket with broad, sharply pointed lapels over a much darker blouse. Blue-green handwriting descends diagonally across the lapel at the right, beginning with ‘To’ and ending with the clearly legible signature ‘Lois’; the intervening words cannot be transcribed reliably from this reproduction. The inscription appears directly upon the portrait, making the sitter’s handwriting part of the composition. Behind her, broad pools of charcoal, gray, and cream dissolve into a soft, indistinct background. Uneven toning, visible grain, scattered surface marks, and softened detail give the photograph the tactile character of an image repeatedly reproduced and preserved.","WpMediaId":540781,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.pinterest.com/pin/102245854012587942/","SourceImageUrl":"https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/13/35/f2133524432bcc7944b72c2973f12597.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-03-lois-wilson-smiling-in-portrait.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":10,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-04-bill-and-lois-wilson-seated-in-the-stepping-stones-garden.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson seated in the Stepping Stones garden.","Caption":"Bill and Lois Wilson sit together among the flowers and trees at Stepping Stones, their Bedford Hills home from 1941 onward. From this property, Bill continued his work for Alcoholics Anonymous while Lois and Anne B. began organizing the family groups that became Al-Anon. Their relaxed smiles make the photograph an unusually intimate record of the partnership and domestic setting behind two international fellowships.","Description":"Lois and Bill sit close together on the garden floor, framed by leafy ground cover, flowering plants, and the dark vertical trunks of mature trees. Lois occupies the foreground with her legs extended diagonally across the composition. She wears a pale yellow cardigan over a white collared blouse and a coral-colored skirt patterned with scattered white and lavender flowers. Dark low-heeled shoes complete the informal outfit. Her white hair is softly waved away from her face, and she leans toward Bill with a broad, animated smile. A flowering stem rises across her lap, visually joining her clothing to the surrounding garden. Bill sits immediately behind her, one knee raised and the other leg folded beneath him. His dark gray suit retains the formality of public dress, but his relaxed posture, loosened limbs, and open smile dissolve that formality. A white shirt, narrow dark tie, pale pocket square, and wristwatch provide crisp accents against the suit. One arm rests across his raised knee while the other disappears behind Lois, tightening the couple’s physical grouping. Their bodies form a compact triangle at the center of the portrait, enclosed by soft green foliage and punctuated by pale blossoms. The warm, slightly faded color and gentle softness of the surviving reproduction give the garden scene the atmosphere of a cherished family photograph.","WpMediaId":540791,"SourcePageUrl":"https://storiesofrecovery.org/history.htm","SourceImageUrl":"https://storiesofrecovery.org/downloads/historic/BillLoisWilson-SS-C.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-04-bill-and-lois-wilson-seated-in-the-stepping-stones-garden.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":11,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-05-bill-and-lois-wilson-at-stepping-stones.jpg","Alt":"Bill and Lois Wilson at Stepping Stones.","Caption":"Bill and Lois Wilson stand before their Bedford Hills home in one of the earliest photographs of the couple at the property. They moved there on April 11, 1941, first calling it ‘Bil-Lo’s Break’ and later Stepping Stones. The house and grounds became the enduring domestic center of Bill’s work for Alcoholics Anonymous and Lois’s role in the formation of Al-Anon.","Description":"Bill and Lois stand side by side in a sunlit garden, surrounded by tall leafy plants and a closely cut lawn. Bill occupies the left side of the composition with both hands tucked into the pockets of a loose, light-colored suit. His jacket hangs open over an open-collared shirt, and his trousers fall in broad folds toward dark shoes partly concealed by the vegetation. His shoulders incline slightly forward, his head turns toward Lois, and his expression appears caught between conversation and a smile. Lois stands close beside him with her right hand planted firmly at her hip and her face lifted toward his. A dark cardigan or jacket is draped around her shoulders over a pale blouse fastened at the throat with a small brooch or clasp. A knee-length plaid skirt, narrow dark belt, light stockings, and dark shoes complete her practical daytime clothing. Her alert posture and affectionate upward glance create the impression of an exchange already underway rather than a rigidly arranged pose. The house rises immediately behind them. Shingled walls, multi-pane windows, the edge of a screened or shaded porch, and a white garden trellis establish the property as a lived-in domestic setting. A mature tree spreads leaves across the upper-left corner, partially masking the roof, while dense foreground plants rise around the couple’s legs. The strong sunlight brightens the lawn, Lois’s blouse, and the front planes of Bill’s suit, leaving the porch and lower windows in cool shadow. The combination of conversational body language, cultivated garden, and visible house gives the portrait an atmosphere of shared possession and settled domestic life.","WpMediaId":540795,"SourcePageUrl":"https://storiesofrecovery.org/history.htm","SourceImageUrl":"https://storiesofrecovery.org/downloads/historic/Bill-Lois-SteppingStones.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-05-bill-and-lois-wilson-at-stepping-stones.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":12,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-06-lois-wilson-in-close-portrait.jpg","Alt":"Lois Wilson in close portrait.","Caption":"Lois Burnham Wilson in a close reproduction of the formal portrait widely used to illustrate her life and work. In 1951, Wilson and Anne B. began coordinating existing family groups from Stepping Stones, laying the foundation for Al-Anon Family Groups. The tight crop concentrates attention on the composed, receptive expression through which later biographical accounts presented her to readers.","Description":"Lois turns slightly toward her left while directing her eyes just beyond the camera. Her lips part in a restrained smile, softening an otherwise composed expression. Light hair is swept upward from a side part, arranged in broad sculpted waves across the crown, and gathered into a smooth roll above the ear. Strong frontal illumination washes across her forehead, cheeks, and nose, while narrow shadows define the eye sockets, nostrils, and lower lip. Only a small portion of her dark garment remains along the lower edge, where its folded neckline forms two rising diagonals beneath the face. The background moves from dense charcoal at the upper left to pale gray around her right shoulder, creating a luminous field behind her hair. Coarse dotting and abrupt tonal transitions texture the entire reproduction, especially the dark background and shaded side of her face. Highlights spread through the hair and skin, while fine facial and fabric details have softened. The extreme horizontal crop gives the portrait an almost cinematic concentration, suspending Lois’s attentive expression between surrounding fields of darkness and light.","WpMediaId":540801,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aaagnostica.org/lois-wilson/","SourceImageUrl":"https://aaagnostica.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Lois-Wilson.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-06-lois-wilson-in-close-portrait.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":13,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/lois-wilson-07-lois-wilson-seated-at-a-desk.jpg","Alt":"Lois Wilson seated at a desk.","Caption":"Lois Burnham Wilson sits for a formal portrait that presents Al-Anon’s cofounder with quiet assurance. Beginning in 1951, Wilson and Anne B. coordinated existing family groups from Stepping Stones and established the work that became Al-Anon Family Groups. The complete composition—hands, jewelry, tailored clothing, and measured posture—preserves a fuller public likeness than the tightly cropped version also circulated in later biographies.","Description":"Lois sits squarely behind a plain table, her forearms extending inward from either side to create a broad, stable base beneath her face. One hand rests flat against the surface, fingers gently separated and a dark ring visible near the center of the composition. A bright wristwatch encircles the adjacent wrist. Her other arm crosses the foreground in shadow, its bent sleeve reinforcing the portrait’s strong horizontal foundation. She wears a dark tailored dress or jacket with structured shoulders, softly gathered sleeve heads, and a deep folded neckline. A single bright button anchors the garment below the collar, while a short necklace forms a delicate arc at her throat. Her light hair is swept upward from a side part and arranged in sculpted waves, ending in a smooth roll above the ear. She turns slightly toward her left and looks just beyond the camera with an attentive, restrained smile. The studio background grades from near-black at the upper left to pale gray behind her right shoulder, separating the light hair and face from the surrounding darkness. Illumination falls most strongly across her forehead, cheeks, hands, jewelry, and the polished table edge, while the garment retains dense black folds. Fine dotting and grain cover the background and clothing; highlights have spread through the face and hair, and the small reproduction softens the contours of her fingers and accessories. Despite those losses, the complete seated pose conveys composure, accessibility, and practiced public presence.","WpMediaId":540802,"SourcePageUrl":"https://aaagnostica.org/lois-wilson/","SourceImageUrl":"https://aaagnostica.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lois-e1412023294888.jpg","LocalPath":"work/aa_final_uploads/lois-wilson-07-lois-wilson-seated-at-a-desk.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":14,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/aaws-timeline-023-c6c788894145.jpg","Alt":"A black-and-white photograph shows the upper stories and entry of a narrow urban residence partly obscured by mature trees.","Caption":"New York City Department of Taxes photograph of 182 Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, 1940, made after the rowhouse's conversion into a three-family residence. Lois Burnham Wilson was born here in 1891 and later lived here with Bill Wilson during decisive years in A.A.'s formation. At the kitchen table in November 1934, Ebby T. carried to Bill the spiritual message that preceded Bill's sobriety; beginning in 1935, the Wilsons opened the house for Tuesday-night meetings and temporary stays by alcoholics. They were forced to leave in 1939. This municipal record preserves the exterior of the domestic setting where Bill's recovery and the early New York fellowship took practical form.","Description":"Mature street trees spread across the pale masonry facade of the Clinton Street rowhouse, breaking its formal architecture into shifting passages of sunlight and shade. Three evenly spaced window bays rise beneath an elaborate projecting cornice ornamented with brackets, recessed panels, and a dark patterned band. A steep brownstone stoop climbs to the deeply recessed entrance, where the closed double doors appear almost black against the sunlit wall. Thick stone sidewalls frame the stairs, while iron railings, curled fence details, basement windows, and narrow areaways articulate the lower level. Branches veil portions of the upper windows and press in from both sides, visually embedding the house within its densely planted Brooklyn Heights block. Adjoining residences remain partly visible at the margins, but the centered doorway and ascending stoop hold the composition together. Fine grain, softened detail, deep doorway shadows, and scattered wear along the dark photographic border give the otherwise ordinary residential facade the sober immediacy of a municipal record.","WpMediaId":542714,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/aa-timeline","SourceImageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/timeline/assets/SYG026B.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/timeline/aaws-timeline/aaws-timeline-023-c6c788894145.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":15,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/aaws-timeline-037-430f55d873a0.jpg","Alt":"A small shingled house with a steep roof and chimney stands among bare trees in a monochrome winter landscape.","Caption":"Stepping Stones, the Katonah home acquired by Bill and Lois Wilson in 1941 after approximately two years without a permanent residence. They spent their first night here on April 11 and lived on the property for the remainder of their lives. Although conceived as a retreat from the pressures surrounding early Alcoholics Anonymous, the house became a center of A.A. hospitality and later of Al-Anon organization, correspondence, and fellowship. A.A.W.S. uses this quiet exterior view to mark the moment when the Wilsons gained the stable home from which both of their international recovery movements continued to develop.","Description":"The dark-shingled house emerges from a densely wooded winter landscape, its front-facing gable rising behind a broad evergreen that conceals much of the lower story. Two narrow multipane windows punctuate the upper wall beneath the steep roofline, while a substantial pale chimney stands just behind the ridge. At right, a glass-enclosed porch projects under a lower sloping roof; its repeated windowpanes form a bright geometric grid against the shadowed siding. Leafless trunks occupy every depth of the composition. Fine branches spread across the luminous sky, a slender tree divides the house vertically, and a massive dark trunk anchors the right edge. Irregular patches of snow or frost collect beside the curving drive, low garden stones, and dormant plantings, while branching shadows stretch across the pale foreground. The crowded woodland, screened porch, and partially hidden facade give the residence an intimate, sheltered character. Rounded print corners, pronounced contrast, softened detail, scattered surface marks, and coarse monochrome grain preserve the atmosphere of an aged archival photograph.","WpMediaId":542719,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/aa-timeline","SourceImageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/timeline/assets/SteppingStone.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/timeline/aaws-timeline/aaws-timeline-037-430f55d873a0.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":16,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/aaws-timeline-083-25fb75ab61b8.jpg","Alt":"A black triangular emblem contains a white circle and a linear monogram formed from the letters AFG. No people or place are depicted.","Caption":"The Al-Anon/Alateen identification emblem, its interlocking initials AFG naming Al-Anon Family Groups within a white circle and black triangle. A.A.W.S. uses the mark to represent the fellowship organized by Lois Wilson and Anne B. after they contacted 87 individuals and family groups seeking support separate from Alcoholics Anonymous. The triangle's three sides signify recovery through the Steps, unity through the Traditions, and service through the Concepts. The emblem matters because it condenses Al-Anon's independent identity, guiding principles, and continuing historical relationship with A.A. into a single institutional symbol.","Description":"A solid black triangle dominates the white rectangular field, its sharp apex approaching the upper edge while its broad base extends almost completely across the lower margin. At the triangle's center, a white circle opens like a medallion within the dense black mass. Fine black lines construct the initials AFG as one interdependent geometric figure. Two diagonals rise from the circle's lower edges to form the letter A and meet precisely beneath the triangle's apex. Their horizontal crossbar participates in the angular F below, while the lower strokes turn into a squared G that occupies the bottom of the circle. Because the letters share lines and overlap, the monogram must be read by tracing its internal structure rather than by following three separate characters. The severe contrast, symmetrical outer forms, and tightly integrated lettering create an impression of balance, unity, and mutual dependence. Slightly softened edges and faint gray halos around the black forms preserve the character of a reproduced printed emblem without weakening its forceful geometry.","WpMediaId":542724,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/aa-timeline","SourceImageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/timeline/assets/AFG%20logo.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/timeline/aaws-timeline/aaws-timeline-083-25fb75ab61b8.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":17,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/aaws-timeline-107-3674cf085d5d.jpg","Alt":"An opened Christmas card shows a color Taj Mahal photograph on the left and a handwritten blue-ink greeting on the right. The message addresses Bill and Lois, offers love and gratitude, and is signed collectively from A.A. members in Bombay.","Caption":"Christmas card sent by members of Alcoholics Anonymous in Bombay to Bill and Lois Wilson in December 1961. Four years earlier, Charley M. and New Delhi Loners Sylvia M. and Supatti M. had placed a newspaper advertisement that helped bring isolated Indian contacts together; by the end of 1957, groups were active in New Delhi, Calcutta, and Bombay. The handwritten message of 'love and gratitude' and collective greeting from Bombay transform a commercial Taj Mahal card into evidence of a functioning Indian A.A. community maintaining a direct relationship with the Wilsons.","Description":"The opened cream card rests with its two panels slightly misaligned, the illustrated leaf tilting left and the handwritten leaf extending farther right. On the left, a color photograph of the Taj Mahal shows the white marble mausoleum and four minarets against a deep blue sky, framed by dark cypress trees and reflected in the long central pool. A small printed credit appears at the photograph's lower right, and 'Best Wishes' curves beneath it in broad blue script. Across the right panel, blue handwriting begins 'To Dear Bill and Lois / With love and gratitude.' A large flourished A introduces a centered Christmas verse whose descending lines wish them happiness, luck, and success in the coming year. 'XMAS 1961' is written beside the fold, while the closing gathers individual signatures and the collective greeting of A.A. members in Bombay near the lower edge. Changes in ink pressure, generous spaces between lines, the handwritten additions above the photograph, gently worn corners, and the small shadows cast by the overlapping leaves preserve the intimacy of a card composed, mailed, opened, and retained. The contrast between the postcard-like monument and the expansive personal message turns a familiar national landmark into a record of fellowship carried between India and New York.","WpMediaId":542729,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/aa-timeline","SourceImageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/timeline/assets/TajXmas_card.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/timeline/aaws-timeline/aaws-timeline-107-3674cf085d5d.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":18,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/aaws-timeline-159-01ae53b2bf5e.jpg","Alt":"A square decorative panel combines pink and purple flowers, green leaves, a curling vine, vertical Japanese calligraphy, and a small red seal on a pale ground.","Caption":"Japanese calligraphic rendering of the Serenity Prayer presented to Lois Wilson after her 1973 journey among A.A. and Al-Anon communities in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Honolulu. Written among flowering vines and marked with a red artist's seal, the panel translates a familiar A.A. prayer into the language and decorative conventions of its Japanese setting. Its presentation to Lois gave tangible form to the international fellowship and shared spiritual practice she encountered during the journey.","Description":"A warm ivory square carries the Serenity Prayer in five descending columns of expressive black Japanese calligraphy. The characters vary in size, density, and pressure, creating a deliberate rhythm across the otherwise open lower field. Above them, a slender brown vine enters from the upper right, bends through the center, and curls upward from the lower left. Pointed leaves in black-green, teal, olive, and translucent gray overlap four broad flowers: a cropped pink blossom at upper left, a violet flower near the center, a pale pink bloom at right, and a muted blossom lower down. Red accents mark several flower centers and reappear in the square artist's seal pressed into the lower-left corner. The arcing vine visually gathers the separated columns of writing, while the dark calligraphy counterbalances the mass of foliage overhead. Toning around the perimeter, scattered surface specks, softened color transitions, and gently blurred contours give the retained object the quiet, aged presence of a personal gift preserved over many years.","WpMediaId":542735,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/aa-timeline","SourceImageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/timeline/assets/SS_JapaneseSerenityP.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/timeline/aaws-timeline/aaws-timeline-159-01ae53b2bf5e.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":19,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/aaws-timeline-226-8958bdb4efee.jpg","Alt":"A blue-and-gold roadside-style marker stands before green trees and lawn. Its lettering identifies Stepping Stones as the home of Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and Lois W., cofounder of Al-Anon Family Groups.","Caption":"New York State historic marker at Stepping Stones, the Katonah home where Bill and Lois Wilson lived and worked from 1941 until their deaths. The inscription identifies Bill as a cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935 and Lois as a cofounder of Al-Anon Family Groups in 1951, giving equal public recognition to the two fellowships that grew from their lives and service. Standing at the edge of Lois's garden, the marker locates that international history within the domestic landscape where the Wilsons wrote, welcomed visitors, maintained extensive correspondence, and helped shape enduring communities of recovery. A.A.W.S. associates the photograph with the property's 2004 historic recognition; Stepping Stones later became a National Historic Landmark.","Description":"A blue-and-gold cast-metal marker rises from dense summer vegetation beneath a narrow strip of brilliant sky. Its broad rectangular face swells into a decorative crest containing the silhouette of New York State. Raised gold letters identify 'STEPPING STONES,' name it as the home of Bill and Lois Wilson, and record their respective associations with Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon Family Groups; 'STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT' follows in smaller capitals along the lower edge. Sunlight catches the projecting letters and thick molded border, making them gleam against the weathered blue surface. The matching blue post shows a pale chipped patch above the surrounding leaves. Behind the marker, shrubs and mature trees form a layered green wall, while an opening at right reveals clipped lawn and a slender turquoise garden stake. The close placement of the sign among living plants makes the commemorative object appear embedded in Lois Wilson's garden rather than isolated from the historic landscape it interprets.","WpMediaId":542750,"SourcePageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/aa-timeline","SourceImageUrl":"https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/timeline/assets/ssHistoricMarker.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/timeline/aaws-timeline/aaws-timeline-226-8958bdb4efee.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":20,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/alanon-cofounders-p001-f954dc286fd0d985-f954dc286fd0.jpg","Alt":"Anne B. is shown alone in a vertically proportioned oval vignette, facing almost directly toward the viewer. Her head and upper shoulders fill the center while the lower torso is excluded. Her hair forms soft curls or waves around the forehead and sides, and her face is evenly presented with a broad smile. The dark oval surround transitions into the pale cover design rather than showing a physical room. One adult woman is visible and is explicitly labeled ‘Anne B.’ on the P87 cover. No husband, child, Al-Anon member, office worker, or other figure appears in the extracted portrait. Anne wears small earrings, a single-strand pearl necklace, and a dark garment with a broad light-colored shawl collar. The grayscale rendering does not establish garment color, fabric, maker, or whether the jewelry shown is preserved elsewhere. No handheld object, furniture, document, office equipment, building, or landscape is visible. The oval boundary and pale surround belong to the publication presentation. The vignette suppresses the original background, so the place of the sitting cannot be recovered from the image. P87 states that the portraits of Anne and Lois shown on the cover hang in the lobby of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters in Virginia Beach; this describes later display, not the place where either portrait was made. The extracted file contains no label, but the complete P87 cover places the name ‘Anne B.’ directly beneath this oval. P87 also prints Anne’s life dates as November 9, 1899–February 24, 1984. The 630-by-900 grayscale JPEG is the highest-resolution embedded extraction verified from P87. Tonal transitions are smooth enough to preserve facial expression, hair, collar, necklace, and earrings, while the oval masking removes original edge and background evidence. No higher-resolution exact version was verified in the completed search.","Caption":"Ruth McCauley's 1996 portrait of Anne B. (1899–1984), cofounder of Al-Anon Family Groups, completed for the October Open House at Al-Anon's new World Service Office in Virginia Beach. The Archives Committee commissioned it as a companion to the existing portrait of Lois W.; Anne's daughter later affirmed that it was an excellent likeness of her mother. Reproduced beside Lois on the cover of Al-Anon's Cofounders, the portrait honors the woman who transformed organizing ideas into correspondence, edited literature, financial records, and the card file that connected early Family Groups. Its paired display gives Anne's practical work a permanent and equal place in Al-Anon's institutional memory.","Description":"Within a tall, softly feathered oval, Anne holds her head upright and turns it slightly toward the viewer's right while her eyes glance upward in the opposite direction. Her parted lips form an alert, generous smile that lifts her cheeks and deepens the fine lines at the outer corners of her eyes. Pale hair is arranged in carefully modeled waves, including a pronounced curl above her right temple and looser folds framing the opposite cheek. Small pearl earrings and a graduated strand of pearls catch the brightest highlights. A dark jacket rises beneath a broad white shawl collar whose sweeping curves frame her neck and direct attention toward her face. Gentle frontal light defines her brow, cheekbones, nose, and chin while preserving the texture and maturity of her features. The charcoal background darkens behind her head and dissolves gradually into the white surrounding field. Fine grain and softened tonal transitions give the reproduced painting a velvety surface, balancing commemorative formality with an expression of warmth, intelligence, and ready engagement.","WpMediaId":542774,"SourcePageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf","SourceImageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf#page=1&embedded-image=Im0.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/publication-embedded/alanon-cofounders/alanon-cofounders-p001-f954dc286fd0d985-f954dc286fd0.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":21,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/alanon-cofounders-p001-fc366e28c1bae211-fc366e28c1ba.jpg","Alt":"Lois W. appears alone within a vertically proportioned oval vignette, shown from the upper chest upward. She faces nearly forward with her head turned slightly toward the viewer’s left and holds a composed, faintly smiling expression. Short hair sweeps away from her forehead and temples. The dark oval field isolates her figure from the pale cover and removes any view of the original environment. One adult woman is visible and is explicitly labeled ‘Lois W.’ on the P87 cover. No Bill W., Anne B., family member, visitor, or office worker appears in the extracted portrait. Lois wears small earrings, a single-strand pearl necklace, and a dark V-neck garment or jacket over a lighter neckline. Grayscale reproduction prevents reliable identification of colors, fabrics, garment maker, or jewelry materials. No book, letter, desk, card file, typewriter, furniture, building, or landscape is visible. The oval frame and pale outer field are elements of the publication design. The original setting is absent because the portrait is vignetted. P87 states that the cover portraits of Lois and Anne hang in the Virginia Beach headquarters lobby; that statement documents later display and does not identify the sitting place. The extracted file contains no label, but the complete P87 cover places the name ‘Lois W.’ directly beneath this oval. The publication gives her life dates as March 4, 1891–October 5, 1988. The 634-by-792 grayscale JPEG is the highest-resolution embedded extraction verified from P87. It preserves facial features, hair, necklace, earrings, and neckline but contains no original border or background beyond the oval mask. Direct review shows this is a different historical image from media 540781 and from the seated portrait family represented by media 540801 and 540802.","Caption":"Larry M.’s 1952 portrait of Lois W. (1891–1988), painted for the 24th Street Clubhouse at 334½ West 24th Street in Manhattan during the year Al‑Anon transferred its growing service office there from Stepping Stones. Created one year after Lois and Anne B. began uniting scattered Family Groups, the painting became Al‑Anon’s enduring institutional likeness of its cofounder. Its later display in the World Service Office inspired the commissioning of a companion portrait of Anne, and photographs of the pair were reproduced together in Al‑Anon’s Cofounders—visually preserving their shared place in the fellowship’s history.","Description":"Lois appears against a deep black ground within a tall, softly feathered oval. Her head turns gently toward the viewer’s left, following a calm, attentive gaze. A restrained half-smile lifts one corner of her mouth, while the level brow, raised chin, and clearly modeled jaw convey assurance without severity. Her pale hair rises from a deep side part into a broad sculpted wave before sweeping backward in layered ridges above the ears. Small clustered earrings and a short strand of pearls punctuate the dark, velvety jacket. Even frontal illumination defines the forehead, cheekbones, nose, and chin while preserving crow’s-feet and fine lines around the mouth. The nearly black background eliminates distraction, and the gradual dissolution of its oval edge into the surrounding white field gives the likeness the concentrated presence of a commemorative portrait. Fine grain and softened tonal transitions temper its formality, presenting Lois as composed, observant, and quietly determined.","WpMediaId":542775,"SourcePageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf","SourceImageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf#page=1&embedded-image=Im1.jpg","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/publication-embedded/alanon-cofounders/alanon-cofounders-p001-fc366e28c1bae211-fc366e28c1ba.jpg"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":22,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/alanon-cofounders-p001-9d35ec692d079332-9d35ec692d07.png","Alt":"A black line drawing presents Lois W. from the shoulders upward against a plain white field. Her head turns slightly toward the viewer’s left while her eyes face outward through eyeglasses. Wavy swept hair frames the forehead and ears, and curved contour lines build a smiling expression. The drawing is tall and narrow because it includes blank page area around the figure. One adult woman is represented. Identity is established by the drawing’s placement beside the P87 section headed ‘Lois W.’ and her printed life dates, not by text inside the extracted image. The drawing suggests an open collar or scarf-like neckline and the upper edges of a garment. Sparse line work does not establish color, fabric, jewelry material, garment type, or whether the appearance was copied from a particular photograph. Eyeglasses are clearly represented. No desk, letter, book, typewriter, card file, furniture, building, or landscape appears. The white field is publication space rather than a depicted room. No historical setting is drawn. The object’s documented context is editorial: it appears on page 1 beside the Lois W. biography in P87. It should not be interpreted as an image of Stepping Stones, the 24th Street Clubhouse, or the Virginia Beach headquarters. No lettering appears inside the extracted drawing. On the complete page, the nearby heading and life dates identify the subject as Lois W., March 4, 1891–October 5, 1988. The 285-by-579 grayscale PNG preserves the black strokes and white page background clearly. Some contours are soft because the object is an embedded digital extraction from a composed page rather than a scan of a separately cataloged drawing. The crop includes substantial blank space and no artist mark, caption, border, or production note.","Caption":"Lois Burnham Wilson (1891–1988), cofounder of Al‑Anon Family Groups, in the expressive line portrait published beside her biography in the 1998 pamphlet Al‑Anon’s Cofounders. Issued to preserve the shared history of Lois W. and Anne B., the pamphlet follows Lois from her early life and marriage to Bill W. through the friendship and practical cooperation that led the two women to unite existing Family Groups in 1951. The illustration matters as the publication’s intimate counterpart to the formal painted portrait on its cover: through rapid, open strokes, it introduces the organizer and Acting Chairman whose desk at Stepping Stones became the first working center of the Al‑Anon fellowship.","Description":"Lois’s likeness rises from an otherwise untouched white field in quick, uneven strokes of black. A broad wave of hair curls across her forehead, tightening into darker loops around the temple and ear. Heavy rectangular eyeglasses form the drawing’s strongest horizontal structure; one lens remains lightly indicated while dense crosshatching fills the other side of the face, creating an asymmetrical play of openness and shadow. Her lifted eyebrows, creased cheeks, and slightly parted smile give the expression alertness and warmth. The artist allows much of the forehead, nose, left cheek, and shoulder to remain bare paper, while repeated marks gather along the jaw, neck, open collar, and lower right edge. A single descending seam anchors the lightly suggested garment before dissolving into a burst of diagonal hatching. The unfinished contours and changing pressure of the line preserve the energy of a working sketch, making the sitter appear animated, receptive, and ready to speak.","WpMediaId":542776,"SourcePageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf","SourceImageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf#page=1&embedded-image=Im2.png","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/publication-embedded/alanon-cofounders/alanon-cofounders-p001-9d35ec692d079332-9d35ec692d07.png"},{"ImageMasterId":0,"ImageOrdinal":23,"ImageUrl":"https://chrisdeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/alanon-cofounders-p002-6e869588f16d8bd2-6e869588f16d.png","Alt":"A black line drawing shows Anne B. from the upper torso upward on a plain white field. Her head turns slightly toward the viewer’s right while her face remains largely frontal. Wavy hair frames her forehead and ears, and economical contour lines define the eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, neck, shoulders, and upper garment. The tall extraction includes generous white space around the figure. One adult woman is represented. The complete page identifies her as Anne B. through the nearby heading and printed life dates; the extracted drawing contains no name. The drawing shows a garment with a patterned or looped scarf-like element around the neck and a dark linear edge across the shoulders. No eyeglasses are shown. The sparse monochrome marks do not establish color, fabric, jewelry, exact garment type, or the source of the depicted clothing. No desk, ledger, card file, typewriter, letter, furniture, building, vehicle, or landscape appears. The white surround belongs to the page design. The drawing contains no environmental setting. Its verified context is page 2 of P87 beneath the heading ‘Anne B.’ and her life dates. It should not be assigned to Anne’s home in Chappaqua, Stepping Stones, the 24th Street Clubhouse, or another place. No wording appears within the extracted image. The complete page supplies the identification ‘Anne B.’ and the dates November 9, 1899–February 24, 1984. The 315-by-611 grayscale PNG preserves the principal black lines clearly but includes broad white margins. Soft edges and variable stroke density reflect an embedded page object rather than a separately documented original drawing. No artist signature, production note, caption, border, or date is visible.","Caption":"Anne B. (1899–1984), cofounder of Al‑Anon Family Groups, in the expressive line portrait published beside her biography in the 1998 pamphlet Al‑Anon’s Cofounders. After meeting Lois W. in 1941, Anne hosted an early Family Group at her Chappaqua home and, beginning in 1951, supplied much of the practical structure behind the emerging fellowship—serving as Secretary, editing its first pamphlet, recording expenses, and building its card file of members and groups. The illustration gives Anne a distinct presence within Al‑Anon’s founding narrative, honoring both the administrative labor through which she helped unite the fellowship and the personal recovery she continued to embody throughout her life.","Description":"Anne’s face and upper figure emerge from a largely untouched white field through restless black pen strokes of changing weight. Her hair rises into a high, sweeping crest of curls, densely worked above the left temple before loosening into pale, incomplete arcs across the crown. Firm, slightly lowered eyebrows frame a direct, searching gaze. Fine marks gather around the eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth, preserving the irregularities and lines of an older face rather than smoothing them into ceremonial idealization. Her lips settle into a restrained, asymmetrical smile that softens the concentrated expression. The darkest passages run down the left cheek, jaw, and neck, while the opposite side of her face remains open and luminous. Beneath the chin, a loosely knotted scarf descends through overlapping folds and broad circular motifs, its fluid contours contrasting with the sharper hatching of the face and dark garment. One shoulder is only lightly suggested; the other dissolves into shadow. The uneven balance of blank paper and accumulated line gives the likeness an introspective energy—alert, weathered, and quietly resolute.","WpMediaId":542777,"SourcePageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf","SourceImageUrl":"https://al-anon.org/pdf/P87.pdf#page=2&embedded-image=Im0.png","LocalPath":"outputs/pghaa-museum-collection/authoritative-images/raw/publication-embedded/alanon-cofounders/alanon-cofounders-p002-6e869588f16d8bd2-6e869588f16d.png"}],"Video":null,"HasVideo":false,"IdentityFields":[{"Label":"Full Name","Value":"Lois Burnham Wilson"},{"Label":"Native Name","Value":"Lois Burnham Wilson"},{"Label":"Other Names","Value":"Lois W.; Lois Wilson"},{"Label":"Sex","Value":"Female"},{"Label":"Nationality","Value":"American"},{"Label":"Religion","Value":"Not established in the reviewed source material"},{"Label":"Mother","Value":"Matilda Hoyt Spellman"},{"Label":"Father","Value":"Dr. Clark Burnham"}],"MajorWorks":[],"Relations":[],"Contributions":[],"OtherVoices":[],"ComponentSequence":["Page Shell","Top Action Back Link","Profile Kicker","Profile Title","Profile Deck","Visual Identity Section","Context Card Row","Period Card","Era Card","Born Card","Died Card","Geo Card Row","Region Card","Terra Avita Card","Terra Avita Region Card","Modern Country Card","Contribution/Birthplace Row","Contribution Card","Birthplace Card","Image Gallery Section","Image Modal","Main Content Container","Identity Fields Section"],"SectionTitles":["Identity Fields"],"Counts":{"ImageFigures":23,"VideoIframes":0,"MajorWorkCards":0,"RelationCards":0,"RelationChips":0,"ContributionCards":0},"Contribution":{"Label":"Contribution","Title":"Extending recovery to families","Url":"","Deck":"Wilson helped turn the needs of alcoholics’ families into a fellowship of their own, co-founding Al-Anon Family Groups and carrying its message around the world.","Ring":"#8A5A2E","TerraRing":"#8A5A2E"},"LineaKeys":{"PeriodName":"Modern History","EraName":"Long 19th Century","TerraAvitaName":"North America","TerraAvitaRegionName":"Appalachian–Atlantic Highlands","CountryIso3":"USA","Region":null,"StateCode":"NY"}}