Irvin, Virginia Hendrickson. Self Portrait. ca. 1940. Watercolor on ivory in gilded wood frame. 23⁄8 × 17⁄8 in. (6 × 4.8 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Virginia Gray Hendrickson was born in Chicago on October 9, 1904, the third daughter of Forman and Edith (Gray) Hendrickson. Her father died of cerebral malaria in 1910, and her family relocated to Ann Arbor, where she would spend the majority of her life. Virginia lived a life of privilege, with live-in servants and grand homes. Her father had been the president of his own Chicago business, the F. S. Hendrickson Lumber Company, and her mother was descended from Detroit's wealthy Fisher family. In her earliest Ann Arbor years, she lived in the home of her grandparents, Charles and Arabella (Fisher) Gray, who also owned a home in the Methodist summer community of Bay View on Lake Michigan. She attended schools in Ann Arbor, as well as the exclusive Highland Hall in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.

In her youth, Virginia displayed a natural aptitude for art.  Ann Arbor High School’s 1921 yearbook includes several of her illustrations. From 1922 through 1924, Virginia attended the Art Institute of Chicago and studied the sixteenth century painter Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). She found inspiration in his miniature portraits and devoted herself to perfecting the technique, studying with miniaturist Elsie Dodge Pattee.

On December 28, 1923, The Ann Arbor Times News announced her engagement to Charles E. Irvin of Jackson, Michigan. The Jackson Citizen Patriot announced it as well, with the headline "Pretty Art Student Will Be Bride of Jackson Man". On August 16, 1924 Virginia & Charles were married at the Hendrickson family's summer home in Bay View. The service was conducted by Virginia's uncle, Dr. Arthur W. Stalker.

Virginia & Charles started their married life together in Chicago, where Charles worked as an economist, but soon found their way back to Ann Arbor. While he worked in business and real estate, Virginia continued to paint. She received steady commissions and exhibited her work all across the country and many European capitals. On January 6, 1933 Charles E. Irvin Jr., their only child, was born.

Irvin, Virginia Hendrickson. Charles E. Irvin Jr. ca. 1935. Watercolor on ivory in gold filigree case with brooch pin. Diam. 3⁄4 in. (1.9 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Virginia Hendrickson Irvin became a well-known name in the niche world of American portrait miniatures. Her finished pieces usually ranged in size from one inch in diameter to five by six inches. Her calling cards were engraved with "The miniature is to painting what the sonnet is to poetry: prescribed and limited, but the jewel in portraiture." Meticulous details were featured in all of her work, with all of the qualities of full-sized portraits condensed with intricate detail, some to the size of a pinhead.

Her technique involved polishing thin pieces of ivory with pumice powder so they would hold watercolor on their surface. Sketching the tiny portrait directly onto the ivory, in blue cobalt, was the next step. Using a magnifying glass, she would then paint on dabs of watercolor with small sable brushes. For the tiniest detailed work, her brushes could be as thin as an eyelash or two. Completing one of her miniature portraits usually took her about two to three weeks, with the eyes alone sometimes requiring an entire day's work. She liked to use photographs as reference material and painted many portraits of her close friends and family. Virginia chose to paint only during the day, feeling that artificial light was not conducive to distinguishing between subtle shades of color.

The work of Virginia Hendrickson Irvin was exhibited in many well known settings including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers, in London. She won countless awards and accolades for her paintings, including a 1954 Medal of Honor from the National Association of Women Artists. Her work may be found in the permanent collection of numerous museums. In 1943 Virginia was unanimously elected to membership in the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters, becoming the sixty-ninth member of the Society, which was founded in 1901. In 1944, Virginia participated in the forty-fifth annual of the American Society of Miniature Painters at New York's Grand Central Galleries. She was awarded their highest honor, the Levantia White Boardman Memorial Medal for a portrait of her mother, Edith Gray Hendrickson.

Irvin, Virginia Hendrickson. Mrs. Forman S. Hendrickson. ca. 1944. Watercolor on ivory in ebonized and gold-painted wood frame. 3 5⁄8 × 4 3⁄8 in. (9.2 × 11.1 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Charles Irvin died in August 1956, leaving Virginia a widow. He was buried in Ann Arbor's St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery. At the time of his death he was a professor of real estate in the University of Michigan's School of Business Administration. The Irvin family lived in the Anberay apartments at 619 E. University. Charles Jr. still lived with them, and was a student at the University of Michigan law school. Virginia continued her career as an artist, while also working as a clerk at Ulrich's Bookstore, just a short walk from home. In 1958, Virginia won the National Association of Women Artists prize for her miniature painting "Reflection".

Irvin, Virginia Hendrickson. Reflection. ca. 1958. Watercolor on ivory in gilded carved wood and plaster frame. 3 3⁄8 × 4 1⁄8 in. (8.6 × 10.5 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

1967 was a notable year in Virginia's life as her only son, Charles Edgar Irvin Jr., was ordained as a catholic priest. She commemorated the occasion with a miniature portrait of him in his black clergy shirt and white collar. Father Charlie, as he was known, would go on to spend 54 years in the priesthood in and around Ann Arbor.

Irvin, Virginia Hendrickson. Rev. Charles E. Irvin. ca. 1967. Watercolor on ivory in gilded wood frame. Diam. 3 in. (7.6 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

In 1970 the Ann Arbor News ran an article titled "Mrs. Irvin's Painting Trade One Of Few In Country". At the age of 65 she was still receiving commissions for her paintings and living alone at her 619 E. University apartment. In 1980 she was included in the book "Women Artists in America: Eighteenth Century to the Present (1790-1980)". Virginia Hendrickson Irvin lived independently in her apartment until her mid-80s. She died on her son's birthday, January 6, 1992 at the Gilbert Residence nursing home in Ypsilanti at the age of 87. She was buried in Ann Arbor's St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery, next to her husband Charles. Her son was one of the many priests who celebrated her funeral mass. In 1998, Charles E. Irvin Jr., aka Father Charlie, donated his mother's remaining paintings to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, along with a collection of biographical materials and newspaper clippings. He died in 2021 and joined his parents in St. Thomas Cemetery.

Anna N. Schweizer was born August 25, 1902 in Springville, New York. She graduated from Springville High School and then attended Hurst Private School, a business college in Buffalo. On New Year’s Day of 1924, she married Milton H. Vanderpool. By the mid-1930s, her marriage was falling apart and she moved to Ann Arbor. Why she relocated to Michigan is unknown, but she found employment at the McDonald Ice Cream Company. In September 1940 her divorce from Milton was finalized and, two months later, she was hired by the Ann Arbor Police Department. She probably had no idea that the AAPD was where she would create a career for herself.

In November 1940, Chief Norman E. Cook announced the appointment of Miss Ann Vanderpool to the Ann Arbor Police Department. Her official start day was November 25, 1940, the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. She assumed a full-time role as stenographer in the traffic and records bureau, and officially became the first female employee in the history of the AAPD.

Ann Vanderpool’s 1940 starting salary as an AAPD stenographer was $960 a year. Ann Arbor’s City Council voted for police department salary increases in May of 1941, and she received an $84 raise, bumping her up to $1,044 a year. By comparison, first year police officer salaries were raised to $1,560 a year.

In February 1942, members of the Ann Arbor Police Department gathered in City Hall for their annual chicken dinner banquet. Awards were given to officers for excellence in pistol marksmanship and, for the first time in the department’s history, a woman won an award. It was Ann Vanderpool, of course, who was awarded a medal in the marksman class. When honors were announced in the Ann Arbor News, she was referred to as “record clerk and police woman”. Although she did not serve as a police officer, she received much of the same training as incoming recruits. She had never fired a gun when she joined the force in 1940, but was proving herself to be more than capable. Everything changed that spring when Ann received a promotion. Male police officers were being called away to serve in World War II, making it the perfect opportunity to elevate a competent, female employee. City of Ann Arbor records show that Ann Vanderpool was officially sworn in as a police officer on April 27, 1942. The following day, the Ann Arbor News ran the article “Miss Vanderpool Will Head Traffic Bureau”. She had officially become Ann Arbor’s first policewoman.

June 1942 brought another major change into Ann’s life when she married Grover Tapp. Grover, who was also a native of the greater Buffalo area and divorced from his first spouse, worked as a steward for Ann Arbor’s Moose Lodge. They honeymooned in their home state of New York and moved into an apartment on Huron Street. In 2002, Sergeant Michael Logghe wrote “True Crimes and the History of the Ann Arbor Police Department”. He noted, “I have found many conflicting accounts of who was the first female police officer in the department…there is no doubt that either Ann Tapp or Ann Vanderpool was the first female police officer.” We now know that Ann Tapp and Ann Vanderpool were actually the same person.

In January 1943, the annual police banquet was held at the Allenel hotel. The following day’s Ann Arbor News ran the headline “Mrs. Tapp, Police Woman, Shows The Men How To Wield Revolver”. Her 73.83 per cent average for 1942 target practice took honors in the sharpshooter’s division, and she was presented with an award at the banquet.

February 1944 brought another turn in Ann’s life when her husband died. Grover Tapp was buried in Springville, New York’s Maplewood Cemetery near Ann’s parents, Frederick & Anna Schweizer. Despite this setback, she continued to excel in her role in the Ann Arbor Police Department, especially when it came to firing weapons. Her colleagues called her Annie Oakley, after the famous female sharpshooter. "Woman Officer Sets Pace For Pistol Shooters" ran in the Ann Arbor News in January 1945. By the end of 1946, Ann was earning $2,532 a year for her role as head of the traffic & records bureau. In January 1947 "Mrs. Tapp Shows Male Officers How To Shoot" was published in the Ann Arbor News. Describing how she was outscored only by the chief of police, the article lauded her target practice average of 76.15 and how she was awarded for expert classification. "Mrs. Ann Tapp, who would frown at being called a "Pistol-Packin' Mama, continues to show the way to most of Ann Arbor's pistol-packing policemen when it comes to firing a gun."

In the early 1950s, Ann moved to an apartment on Lawrence Street, on the corner of Division Street, which put her within walking distance of the police station. In 1957 Ann's brother-in-law, Clyde Harmon, died. After his death, Lura Schweizer Harmon, Ann's sister, moved in with Ann. The two sisters lived together on Lawrence Street until Lura's death in 1965.

Ann Tapp, Ann Arbor Police Department Group Photo, May 1953

On August 25, 1967 Ann celebrated her 65th birthday. One week later, after 27 years with the Ann Arbor Police Department, she retired. Police Chief Walter E. Krasny, who announced her departure, said Ann Tapp was "most loyal, greatly devoted to her work...a person who lived her job and took it home with her...". She had worked for five police chiefs: Norman E. Cook, Sherman Mortenson, Casper M. Enkemann, Rolland J. Gainsley, and Krasny. In her later years with the department, she had served as executive secretary to the chief.

Despite her longevity with the AAPD, her dedication, and her closet full of marksmanship trophies, Ann Tapp never served on equal footing with the men in the department. In 1971 that glass ceiling was finally broken when Tanya L. Padgett, Martha E. Parks, and Tommie A. Stewart became the first patrolwomen in the history of the Ann Arbor Police. Some local historians point to this group as Ann Arbor's first true policewomen, finally serving with the same rights and responsibilities of their male counterparts. Whatever your opinion is on the question of "first", it's clear that Ann Tapp should be recognized and celebrated along with Tanya, Martha, and Tommie. All of these women were trailblazers in a predominately male line of work.

In 1979, Ann moved to Florida to live with Dorothy Mae Schweizer. Dorothy was the widow of Richard Lord Schweizer, Ann's nephew. Ann remained in Florida for the rest of her life and died near Orlando on September 27, 1991. She was 89 years old. Her brief obituary in The Orlando Sentinel noted "She was a retired police officer". Ann Arbor's first policewoman, Ann Tapp, returned to New York and now rests in Springville’s Maplewood Cemetery, next to her husband Grover. We are thankful for her service.