“My Prayer” is a modern-day interpretation of the timeless Prayer Children painted in 1940 by Bessie Pease Gutmann. The image of the little boy resonated with everyday people, and her painting became known as “the boy with the trapdoor pajamas.” My mother, a portrait artist, painted a dry pastel copy of Gutmann’s work in the 1950s, wrote “Cal’s Prayer” across the bottom, and hung it over my eldest brother’s bed.
When commissioned to paint a children’s calendar, I wanted my paintings to reflect the softness of Besse Pease Gutmann’s work. My Prayer is a tribute to Gutmann’s painting as well as to my mother’s rendition that watched over my brother throughout his childhood.
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