“Edith and Deische”

20” x 24” acrylic on canvas, framed)

I painted this for wife for Mother’s Day 2025 to celebrate her mother, Edith, then 22 years old, and her grandmother, Billie, later nicknamed “Deische” (pronounced Dye-She) by my wife when she was a toddler - a name that stuck for the rest of her life. Inspired from a 1952 photo, this painting captures the highlight of their family vacation to the Middle East. Sadly, it was also a final goodbye to her grandfather, Frederick C. Wissenbach, an Episcopal minister and celebrated artist, who was ill at the time and passed literally upon returning to New York.

This image is best described by Billie Berry Wissenbach aka “Deische” from her diary that day: September 1, Monday: “The Sphinx was a God Hermacus, The God of the Sun. Part of a lion - strength; head of man - wisdom; face of a woman - beauty.” She went on to describe the camels as “filthy creatures” and the day itself, while beautiful, as “very eerie, and the desert and the mountains in the distance had a look of mist throughout the heat waves.” Disclaimer: These were Deische’s words and not researched by me - the head of a man, wisdom thing would definitely be debated in our home.

This painting was for my wife’s newly revamped home office. It’s meant to be a warm reminder of where she came from and the deep love she had for her mother and grandmother.