Over 60 crayon portraits hang on the walls of the Oneida Pioneer Museum and bring to memory some of the pioneers of Malad Valley. According to the Idaho Heritage Trust, the Oneida Pioneer Museum has one of the best collections of pioneer-era crayon portraits in the State. 

Crayon portraits are not done with Crayola-type crayons but were created through a photographic process used from 1840 to the early 1900s. Faster, cheaper, and easier to make than a painting, a crayon portrait was a weak photographic image that provided the base for extensive handwork by an artist in charcoal or pastel. The drawings were often nearly life size. The prints blended the accuracy of a photograph with the artistry of a painted portrait with the finished piece often giving the appearance of a drawing or painting.

All of the local Museum’s portraits have been professionally conserved by DiAnne Iverglynne, an expert on preserving crayon portraits. DiAnne carefully repairs scratches and tears in the portrait, removes stains and streaks, and then wraps the portrait in a UV-ray resistant pack that will protect the portrait for 100+ years. DiAnne also seeks period frames and glass if the portrait is not already in an appropriate frame. 

DiAnne has spent two weekends in Malad, first evaluating the condition of seven additional portraits and ordering needed frames, glass, and preservation paper. Then she has worked to preserve the recently donated portraits so that they can join the others on the walls of the Museum. The portraits that are new to the collection are of Jesse N. Ward (1874-1955), Julia Ann Moon Ward (1868-1958), Sarah Elizabeth Dives Daniels (1856-1939), Thomas D. Daniels (1855-1917), George Ward (1844-1901), Eunice Alice Nichols Ward (1853-1933), and Mary B. Evans (1910-1958).

If anyone has a crayon portrait of an Oneida County native that dates back to the early 1900s or earlier, please consider donating it to the Museum so that it can be displayed as part of the collection. Sometimes old pioneer portraits are considered too old or in too bad of shape to be of value, but conservationists can work miracles on these priceless portraits of people important to the history of Oneida County.