Motherhood is an art! Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and we’re celebrating the occasion by spotlighting artworks and objects in our collection that illustrate the theme of motherly love and strength. Read below to find out about what our curators from different departments selected.
Dr. Michelle Rich, The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III Assistant Curator of Arts of the Americas
Curator Michelle Rich selected this 100 BCE–250 CE ceramic sculpture made by the people of Jalisco. The object depicts the bond between a mother nursing her infant child.
Dr. Mark A. Castro, The Jorge Baldor Curator of Latin American Art
In this drawing, Guillermo Meza draws a reddish line from the mother’s head and down her spine. The same color as the blanket that holds the child on her back, together they evoke the physical ties that bind mother and child together.
Sue Canterbury, The Pauline Gill Sullivan Curator of American Art
Mary Cassatt is known for images of a mother and child that also recall Renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child. Typically, her models were neighbors rather than family. This is one of the last works she devoted to this theme.
Dr. Roslyn Walker, Senior Curator of the Arts of Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific, and The Margaret McDermott Curator of African Art
African sculptures rarely depict a mother and child facing each other. Yet, carving demonstrates, they are physically and emotionally connected. The mother protectively wraps her left arm around the baby’s torso and holds its feet with her right hand to form a circle of protection.
