Trevor Southey (1940-2015), Motherhood 1, no date, etching, 14 ½ x 11 3/8 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1981. Image courtesy of the Southey Family.
We hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day! Southey’s etching conveys the ineffable and profound feelings of motherhood and the divinity of life. These works were likely motivated by Southey’s own experience and reflections as a parent, realizing the spiritual connection inherent in fostering new life. He created a series of prints focused on mothers holding or nursing their delicate children, as nurturers of a new life. They reflect his admiration for the strength and supernal gifts of women as mothers and caretakers. What attributes of a mother do you see in the woman of this image?