13/03/2026
Motherhood, through the eyes of artists.Â
From Louise Bourgeoisâ towering spider to Aliza Nisenbaumâs cozy Brooklyn family, these works capture love, strength, and resilience - monumental and intimate, tender and fierce.
This Motherâs Day, we celebrate all the ways mothers hold us.
1.
 Maman (1999) by Louise Bourgeois
This towering spider is called Maman - but itâs anything but sentimental. Artist Louise Bourgeois used the spider as a metaphor for her own mother: a weaver, nurturer and protector. Here, motherhood is monumental - both aweâinspiring and unsettling.
2. Motherâs Pride, Hackney (1976, printed 2012) by Dennis Morris
In 1970s Dalston, London, Dennis Morris captured this Black family at home - eyes full of love, pride, and resilience. Amid racism and poverty, their sense of belonging shines through. Even the photoâs title - a nod to a familiar brand of sliced bread - reminds us that care and culture live in the everyday.
3. The Painterâs Mother IV (1973) by Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud painted Lucie Freud again and again, capturing grief, tenderness, and memory in The Painterâs Mother IV (1973). Heavy greys and browns echo her sadness, but the softness in her downcast eyes tells a story of love and endurance.
4. Susan, Aarti, Keerthana and Princess, Sunday in Brooklyn (2018) by Aliza Nisenbaum
Aliza Nisenbaumâs portrait captures a modern family - two mothers and their daughters - cuddled together in Brooklyn. Itâs a story of immigration, adoption, and a shared fight for justice and equity.
5. Infant (1929) by Barbara Hepworth
In 1929, Barbara Hepworth carved her first son, Paul, asleep - upright, not lying down - a quiet, intimate glimpse of motherhood. Hepworthâs upright sleeping infant defies expectation, turning the intimate act of motherhood into creative autonomy.
See Lucian Freud, Painting, at this March.