For Mother’s Day weekend, here is a selection of personal favourites and classic artworks that exemplify the mother-child connection we celebrate with this special day.
My personal favourite, a portrait formed of light and shadow depicting a mother walking with her chubby-legged child is framed by neon bands of magenta and cyan in this work by London, Ontario-based artist Jack Chambers (1931–1978).
The classic mother’s conundrum. In her early days, before she moved to Canada, Clark’s parenting and household duties left little time for painting, a frustrating reality. See more about Paraskeva Clark here.
From the American Art collection at the Smithsonian, a brilliant, timeless, mother-child shot (1973). As the museum notes: “While in many photos of mother and child it’s the young one who squirms, here the daughter is absolutely calm while the mother waves an arm in a blur.”
Picasso did many mother and child paintings, including this one: “Madre e hijo al borde del mar” (Mother and Child on the Seashore), 1921. See others here.
When Amy Sherald was chosen as the official portraitist for Michelle Obama in 2018, she was catapulted to superstardom from her burgeoning career. In this painting (two years earlier), the traditional Madonna and child has been reframed in modern context, with a young girl hoisted onto her mother’s denim-clad hip.
Much has been written about this work, painted by one of the great modern portraitists, Alice Neel. This work shows Neel’s daughter-in-law Nancy, a new mother to her own daughter Olivia, Neel’s first grandchild. Neel was an advocate for women, and the heroics of early motherhood, which she knew herself, are evident in this painting. (See more about this painting and others by Neel did at Artforum here)
One of photography’s most famous mothers: “Migrant Mother,” by Dorothea Lange (1936). The iconic photograph of Florence Owens Thompson, a migrant mother struggling through the Great Depression, symbolizes a woman’s strength and determination in the face of hard times.
On a Personal Note:
I have always loved this portrait of my maternal grandmother (Eileen) with son Robert, probably around 1921. She was an amazing mother and grandmother, as strong as they come and always full of laughter and joy.
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Thanks for this — esp. for Amy Sherald, whose work I didn’t know; for Dorothea Lange’s splendid work that I always want to see again and again; and for the family study with your grandmother. I think what I love most about all three, what unites them for me, is that they treat their subject with respect — honest depictions, close and revealing, but also respectful. (Most difficult of all for Lange, given the circs, and oh my, she achieved it, every time.)
I see what you mean about respect – such an interesting observation and true. I also did not know Any Sherald but what an eye. And I’m so with you on Lange – exceptional. I always appreciate your comments.
A special post indeed! Thank you!
Beautiful. Lovely family photo.
Wonderful tribute to mother’s by these wonderful artists!