(later Scriba, 18 Jan 1842-d.?) and James Frederick Sarg (16 Aug 1843 - 1917). Her two sons, sometimes referred to as Frank (or Franz) and Frederick (or Fred) both moved to Guatemala in later life, and eventually became involved in export business based from Coban as Sarg Hrnos (i.e. Sarg Brothers), especially of Coffee. The eldest brother later became diplomatic consul representing Germany in Guatemala whereafter his son Anthony Frederick Sarg moved to the United States and became famous as a puppeteer and illustrator known as Tony Sarg. Best died in 1891 in Darmstadt. Artworks Contrary to the common practice of her day, Mary Ellen Best was interested in portraying domestic life in her paintings, including families at tables, kitchens, and domestic workers. She painted a number of water-colour images of her home in Castlegate, York, including interior portraits of the drawing room, dining room (painted in 1838), and one of herself working in her painting room. She also painted other houses including the drawing room of Naburn Hall, which was then home to George Palmes. After marrying Johan Anton and moving to Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Worms, and Darmstadt, she continued to paint the houses they lived in. Between 1828 and 1840, two-thirds of Best's portraits were commissioned by women. Caroline Davidson, who wrote a biography of Best, calculated that she produced more than 1,500 paintings in total. Some of Best's drawings were handed down to her great-granddaughter, and 47 were sold in January 1983 in New York City, though York Art Gallery obtained three of them. Others were sold by her great-grand-nephew a year later. The paintings are of historical interest as a record of Yorkshire and European life in the 1830s and 1840s. References External links 1809 births 1891 deaths Artists from York English women painters 19th-century English painters English watercolourists English expatriates in Germany 19th-century British women artists Women watercolorists 19th-century English women