Nanny, Rose, and I

Last night I was down in my basement hunting for some family photo albums, and I came across this print of a painting I'd framed and had hung in my office many years ago. It is one of my favorite pieces of art.  When I first saw it, I would have sworn it was a photograph because of the incredible detail.  The 2nd thing I noticed was the smile on the young woman's face.  I am probably not the first to immediately think of the Mona Lisa when I saw it the first time, but that's who the woman reminded me of.  She has that same look of self assurance and satisfaction -- as if she's either just had sex or is about to. (I think the former).  The third thing I noticed was the energy and patient contentment the golden retriever is emoting.  Like her owner.   

Finally, the three subjects of the painting — the woman, the dog, and the artist… I have the feeling the artist and easel are right there, part of the scene. I can almost put myself in his place, noticing the small intimate details he is seeing and recording, and I can tell he and she are very much in love, knowing each other in ways only a married couple can. The dog, too, is one with them. I was just falling in love with someone who looks a bit like Nanny, but we were missing the dog.  I knew then I wanted a golden retriever.  I fell out of love, but Grace happened...  

It's a summer weekend morning in Northampton, Massachusetts, with the sun streaming in through the screened porch from above the house next door. The dusty screen needs a good wash. There's a hydrangea tree (not a rhododendron -- too far into the summer to be in such full bloom) down the street, and the grass around the house is turning brown and needs cutting. It's going to be hot again, but right now there's still a coolness that requires a flannel bathrobe.  The house next door needs a paint job, the old paint chipping and flaking off in places, and the white trim on this porch could stand some touching up. There’s a stray leaf or two on the newly painted floor. She has begun a list of things to do on the small pad of paper under the spoon on the folding table. But there’s no pen.  The light and shadows fascinate me, especially the sun coming through the wash of the screen.

The painting is titled "Nanny and Rose" and is by the American artist Charles Prior.  The woman is his wife, Nanny Vonnegut (Kurt's daughter), and the golden retriever is Rose.  The painting hangs in the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, where I first saw it many years ago and bought this print.

So this morning, with my own cup of tea in a green mug, I'm leafing through this month's issue of "Yankee" magazine, and flipping over a page came across Naomi Shulman's wonderful article, "Nanny, Rose, and I" about her own first encounter with the painting, and then -- blessed woman -- years later meeting the subjects (including the artist) when she and her husband moved to Northampton. The subtitle is: "A painting showed a young woman what love looked like, And then it came to  life.”   

I will have to give some thought to the grace-filled synchronicity of these two happenings within 12 hours of each other….What does this mean?