“Marking Time” 2005

Front Street, Maysville, Kentucky
Front Street, Maysville, Kentucky, 2002, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

In front of their house by the Ohio River in Maysville, Kentucky my father Clarence stands between his brother and sister towards the beginning of the twentieth century. His family had lived there since the eighteenth century and his mother, my grandmother, was poet laureate of Kentucky (1905).

Chicken and Diary Farm, Norwalk, California
Chicken and Diary Farm, Norwalk, California, 2002, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Across the continent my grandmother Sarah, who had emigrated from Hungary and lived in Chicago, sits alongside my mother Dorothy and her twin sister Gertrude on their farm in Norwalk, California (1917).

Kentucky Picnic
Kentucky Picnic, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Now a strapping teenager, my father sits with his sister and cousin at a family picnic in Maysville. In the background are various maiden aunts (1918).

Norwalk, California
Norwalk, California, 1917, 2002, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

In the early twentieth century Norwalk was still a town of open fields and small farms (1917).

Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake, 2005, 15×22 inches, watercolor

Wearing a black cap, my father swims with friends on a nearby lake (1921).

California Courtship I
California Courtship I
California Courtship II
California Courtship II
California Courtship
California Courtship, 2004, 45×24 inches, oil on canvas

After graduating from law school at UK, my father moves to California to make his fortune. Older, richer, and a flashy spender, he meets my mother and dazzles her with his sophistication and panache. They double-dated at Lake Arrowhead with my mother’s younger sister Amelia and Cliff, her husband-to-be (1928).

Proud Father
Proud Father, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

I enter the picture with my dapper father looking on fondly (1931).

Garden on Denker
Garden on Denker, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My grandmother was considered grouchy, but she loved tending to the flowers in her garden on Denker. Many years later I found out that my mother’s family was Jewish. When I was growing up, it was never mentioned and the only religious experience in California I can remember was being taken to the Christian Science church on Edgemont (1933).

Redondo Duplex
Redondo Duplex, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My father was doing well in real estate and the stock market, and we moved around a lot. Here I am with my new kiddy fire engine in front of our duplex on Redondo Boulevard (1934).

New Dress, Gardner Street
New Dress, Gardner Street, 2005, 15×22 inches, watercolor

I am proud of my new dress (1936).

Gardner Street Backyard
Gardner Street Backyard, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My mother’s twin sister Gertie, now a sophisticated secretary complete with painted nails and a constant cigarette, lived with us on Gardner. On weekends we had a ping pong table set up in the driveway. Always intent on center stage, my mother enrolled me in the Meglin Kiddies, a Hollywood dance school for embryonic child stars that boasted Shirley Temple among its graduates. I’m wearing my official dance costume (1938).

Farmers Market
Farmers Market, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My younger sister Ellie at the Farmer’s Market, when it still actually was a farmer’s market, tentatively watches a duck being fed (1938).

Gardner Street Driveway
Gardner Street Driveway, 2005, 15×22 inches, watercolor

Ellie always seemed a better vehicle for Mom’s dreams of stardom than I was (1938).

Santa Monica Beach II
Santa Monica Beach II, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Our favorite times were at the beach in Santa Monica (1938).

Santa Monica Beach I
Santa Monica Beach I, 1965, 50×30 inches, oil on canvas

Hanging out with our dad (1938).

Backyard Glider
Backyard Glider, 2003, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

In the Denker backyard, Grandma, my mother’s half-sister Lily, and I sit on the glider. I didn’t find out the half-sister part until later as well. When I asked my mother who my grandmother had been married to before, she replied, “We didn’t talk about such things then” (1938).

Cousins on a Chair
Cousins on a Chair, 2003 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

On the front porch at Denker, Ellie and I hold our cousin Kathy, Cliff and Amelia’s daughter. Grandma is in the doorway and the shadow is Mom taking the picture (1939).

My Father’s Hangover
My Father’s Hangover, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My father’s business is not going well. His Kentucky gentlemanly ways- agreements with a handshake rather than a contract- have made him prey to sharper dealers. He’s drinking more and has a bleeding ulcer. After my Kentucky grandfather dies and leaves him a small insurance business, they move back to Maysville (1939).

Second Street, Maysville
Second Street, Maysville, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Second Street Maysville, the business district. Jaunty and unburdened, my parents are making a new start. Even though small town life is totally new to my mother, she will plunge in, joining the Presbyterian church, becoming the Twilight Lady on the radio, and generally taking part in whatever social activities are available (1941).

Maysville Harvest
Maysville Harvest, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Along with the insurance business my father inherited a family farm worked by tenant farmers. Here he poses as the gentleman farmer helping some of the harvesters hired for the season (1942).

My Boyfriend’s Watch
My Boyfriend’s Watch, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

After the freedom of school and life generally in California, Maysville is a shock to me but I’m learning its ways. I’m eleven now in my own front yard, wearing my boyfriend’s watch (1942).

Iceskating on the Pond
Iceskating on the Pond, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Ellie and I iceskate on a nearby frozen pond. The beaches of California seem far away (1944).

Front Yard with Roller Skates
Front Yard with Roller Skates, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Before we moved back, my father implied all Kentucky houses resembled Tara. Instead we moved into a small two-story Victorian house on a busy street, where Ellie and I often rollerskated (1943).

Wild Party
Wild Party, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

Our house was one of the many stops on the round of parties that made up Maysville social life (1950).

Black Dresses
Black Dresses, 2004, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My friend Betty and I sit on our front steps in our first black dresses, feeling terribly sophisticated (1947).

Canoeing on Park Lake
Canoeing on Park Lake, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

One summer pastime was canoeing on Park Lake with Ellie and friends. I’m in the green sweater (1947).

In the Kitchen
In the Kitchen, 2005, 24×50 inches, oil on canvas

My father in our kitchen with our housekeeper Edna, his ubiquitous drink in his hand. His other distraction was doing crossword puzzles (1948).

Band Break
Band Break, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

I played the clarinet in the band from sixth grade to twelfth grade and began to make friends with boys like Ralph Calvert here, as well as boyfriends (1948).

Kiss at George’s House
Kiss at George’s House, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

George, my first husband, lived in a big house on the hill, the best part of town. I often felt I was playing the part of the happy wife in the romantic marriage (1950).

Fitz’s Birthday Party
Fitz’s Birthday Party, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

The second birthday party for Fitz, the older of our two sons. I am pregnant with David (1950).

Cocktail Party
Cocktail Party, 2010, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My friend Carla and I in our early twenties at her engagement party at the Maysville Country Club. We’re all getting married and having babies at this time (1951).

Kentucky Lake Vacation
Kentucky Lake Vacation, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

On vacation in Kentucky Lake. George is in the water and I’m sitting with my friend Zoe. Our marriage isn’t going too well (1951).

Sunday in Nyack
Sunday in Nyack, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

George and I have moved to Rockland County, near New York City. Fitz and David are growing up. But George and I are beginning to go our separate ways (1955).

Barbershop
Barbershop, 2010, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

David getting his hair cut at the local barbershop. I’m looking on with a fur hat (1961).

Upper West Side New Year’s Eve
Upper West Side New Year’s Eve, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

My second husband, Leon, is a psychiatrist. We move to Manhattan with my two boys and his four girls (1964).

Camping in the Adirondacks
Camping in the Adirondacks, 2005, 24×30 inches, oil on canvas

That marriage is beginning to fray. Leon often plans camping trips with all the kids, which only he seems to enjoy (1969).

113th Street
113th Street, 2005, 30×48 inches, oil on canvas

Leo, my third husband, and I have been married now for more than thirty years. It’s the early 70s here, and we’re walking near our apartment on the Upper West Side of New York, with one of our neighbors bopping in the background (1972).

Front Street, Maysville, Kentucky
Chicken and Diary Farm, Norwalk, California
Kentucky Picnic
Norwalk, California
Kentucky Lake
California Courtship I
California Courtship II
California Courtship
Proud Father
Garden on Denker
Redondo Duplex
New Dress, Gardner Street
Gardner Street Backyard
Farmers Market
Gardner Street Driveway
Santa Monica Beach II
Santa Monica Beach I
Backyard Glider
Cousins on a Chair
My Father’s Hangover
Second Street, Maysville
Maysville Harvest
My Boyfriend’s Watch
Iceskating on the Pond
Front Yard with Roller Skates
Wild Party
Black Dresses
Canoeing on Park Lake
In the Kitchen
Band Break
Kiss at George’s House
Fitz’s Birthday Party
Cocktail Party
Kentucky Lake Vacation
Sunday in Nyack
Barbershop
Upper West Side New Year’s Eve
Camping in the Adirondacks
113th Street
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