Mother's Day Dedication and Artist Inspirations

Mom (ca. 1958)

I'm dedicating this post to my Mom, a very snappy dresser who expressed her artistic side through clothes, costume jewelry, handbags, and shoes; she was the Imelda Marcos of the U.S. My favorite photograph of her is a black-and-white portrait with me and my older brother. Her haircut is reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor’s short 1950s hairstyle from Father of the Bride. Even Lucille Ball dons a new hairstyle during the Black Wig episode of I Love Lucy (1954) where she tries to fool Ricky into believing she is an Italian temptress.

Liz Taylor (1963-5), Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol famously silk-screened portraits of Liz, Lucy, Marilyn Monroe, among others. Warhol and Ball share August 6th birthdays and iconic hairstyles -- Andy with his white wig and Lucy with her red henna-dyed hair. We saw his Marilyn exhibit while visiting Palm Springs in 2018. His work is currently on display at the Tate Museum in London, the birthplace of Ms. Taylor. As a mother, she had three biological children and one adopted child.

Vue de l'asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Rémy
(1889), Vincent Van Gogh

She once owned a rare Van Gogh painting. Apparently, her art dealer father paid $130,000 for it in 1963 on her behalf, and it later sold at auction at Christie's in May 2018 for $39,687,500.

Portrait of the Artist's Mother
(1888), Van Gogh

Vincent's mother, Anna Carbentus Van Gogh, an amateur artist herself, is credited as having introduced him to art. He colorized her portrait from a black-and-white photograph.

Green Acres (1965-71)

Mom sported many hairstyles. One day I came home from school and was shocked to find a blonde woman talking on the phone in the kitchen. It was my Mom, but she looked like Eva Gabor from the 1965 sitcom Green Acres. Her hair was in a French twist, the signature hairstyle of Ms. Gabor. Mom remained a blonde from then on and even wore her hair like that as the mother of the groom in my wedding.

I bet you recognize the couple's pose as that of Grant Wood's American Gothic (1930). You may see it hanging today in the Art Institute of Chicago.

We even compared Mom to actress Dina Merrill, who appeared as a brunette in 1963’s The Courtship of Eddie's Father opposite Glenn Ford with little Ronnie Howard as Eddie. Earlier in 1959, she starred with Tony Curtis in the Cary Grant movie Operation Petticoat as a blonde. We’d watch her in the 1970s on the game show Match Game.

Mom was also on TV as a 3-day winner on the game show Concentration, hosted by Hugh Downs. I remember watching her in my older brother’s 3rd-grade classroom where we made Christmas wreaths on paper plates. It felt like I was the Beaver, spending time with Wally and watching Mrs. Cleaver on a game show. The show inspired us to create our own rebus puzzles after we exhausted all the ones that came with the board game.

One of the most prominent game show stars was Betty White, who often appeared on her husband’s show Password. In Mom’s later years, she was definitely channeling this Golden Girl. Mom also caught the acting bug when she imitated Betty Hutton by lip-synching a song for a church variety show. 

The song, "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?", was actually from a Fred Astaire movie and was sung by actress Jane Powell. Ms. Hutton was famous for her portrayal of sharpshooter Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1950).

Mother and Child (1914), Mary Cassatt

Now let's look at some of the more famous artwork depicting mothers. I included this beautiful pastel painting by American portrait and figure artist Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) in my April Easter Eggs post.

Whistler's Mother (1871), James Whistler

One of the most iconic American paintings is James McNeill Whistler's portrait of his mother, Anna McNeill Whistler. Known simply as Whistler's Mother, its actual title is Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1. Not the most flattering image, though it made it into the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Pietà (1498-99), Michelangelo,
St. Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo’s Pieta, a common subject in religious art, is certainly one of the most well-known sculptures in the world. Sorrowful Mother Mary is compassionately cradling her dead son. She seems so robust compared to the frail Christ. Even under the magnificent amount of folds of her garment and his shroud you can see her strong lower legs supporting his weight. 

When we visited the Vatican in May 2011, St. Peter's was unfortunately too crowded for us to visit. The lines were too long and we had just finished winding our way through the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel. Maybe next time!