Why paint images of men and babies? Fatherhood has been around a long time, and yet when you examine the art historical record you find that fathers are barely represented and that fathers with young infants are conspicuously absent. How can this be? Was this absence brought about because in Christianity the father figure is the often invisible God and Joseph has been relegated to the position of stepfather? Has this contributed to the notion among men that loyalty to each other is more admirable than loyalty to the family? The military commands loyalty and men follow. The corporation demands loyalty and again men oblige. The type of loyalty that these organizations require was once the domain of the family. Elizabeth Anfield: Modern Madonnas
You Have Loved
Supreme Courage
Sweet Image
Tender Years
Carry Feelings
May My Life
Then Is It
Looking Deep
Look to Science
Sweet Image 2
Algebra
They Men
Blessed Man
O Joy
Powers of Manhood
Sometimes
Yet You Meet
27.2
Love and Beauty
 
32
30
Purpose
Human Emotions
At My side
Plunge Deeper
Joy in Embers
Men once understood that they were an essential part of the family, but now they find themselves more connected to their jobs than their families. How has this been allowed to happen and how will we get them to reengage? Certainly going to the museum and seeing no history of their role as nurturer has contributed to this disconnect. With these paintings I attempt to create a public history of male nurturing. While photographers have begun to experiment with this subject, their photos often convey a sexiness that detracts from the role of nurturing. I have tried to show what nurturing really looks like; there is fear and exhaustion in these faces as well as love and fascination. Each painting is also associated with a quote from a famous author about how men experience emotions of mentoring. Male nurturing must be brought out from behind Art’s closed doors and accepted by Society at large so that it will be thought of as a strength rather than a weakness. MEDIUM: All paintings are oil on Antwerp linen unless otherwise noted.