Family Portrait, 1918 Interrupted

7" x 7"

Vintage paper and photos from the early 1900's

Title: Family Portrait, 1918 Interrupted

This powerful mixed-media collage takes a formal historical family portrait—dated 1918—and subjects it to abstract deconstruction, prompting reflection on memory, loss, and the nature of preserved identity. The large, black-and-white studio portrait shows two parents and five children, instantly grounding the work in a specific historical moment.

The serenity of the historical image is deliberately challenged by abstract intervention, particularly an expressive purple/magenta smear obscuring the face of the mother and the infant in her arms. This selective redaction raises profound questions about who is remembered and who is symbolically erased from history. The collage is built on a foundation of vintage text, including newspaper clippings, and features the date "1918" prominently displayed, highlighting the tension between the fixed past and the emotional reinterpretation of the present.

This work is an excellent, thought-provoking addition to any collection interested in historical photography, memory, and expressive abstract art.

• Medium: Mixed-Media Collage (Antique Family Photograph, Acrylic Paint, Newspaper Ephemera)

• Themes: Family History, Redaction, Memory, Loss

• Key Visuals: Large 1918 Family Portrait, Purple/Magenta Abstract Smear